


Breaking the walls

by refan



Category: 2PM (Band)
Genre: AU, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-09
Updated: 2015-10-09
Packaged: 2018-04-25 14:14:34
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 42,787
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4963804
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/refan/pseuds/refan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Wooyoung is a very promising architect. Everything goes pretty well in his life until he's attacked by thugs. However, he gets saved by Minjun - a shady mob member who's just got out of the prison. On top of that, Wooyoung receives an intriguing offer from him. Is it going to change anything?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks @egle0702 for editing this fanfic!

[ ](http://s66.photobucket.com/user/ielektrinta/media/wk.jpg.html)

His hand is moving quickly, the other one holding the sketchbook tightly. New lines appearing one after another, the pencil giving life to a blank page effortlessly. Wooyoung presses it stronger, to highlight different features of his drawing, which is transforming into a giant building in a matter of seconds. He’s standing in a shadow, looking at a relatively old factory, which has been turning into ruins year by year. It’s pretty hot today, but as Wooyoung is immersed into drawing, he pays attention to nothing. His brain ignores every sound, birds flying around and every other existence. He’s preoccupied with his wild imagination, sketchbook and pencil.

He sees the building as a place that could become a leisure complex for kids, who love active sports. Like skateboarding, cycling, wall climbing, roller-skating and so on. However, it’s all in his fantasy now as Wooyoung simply enjoys his free time on this humid summer Sunday noon.

Being an architect is something he has been dreaming of since his childhood. His room would always be decorated with random building sketches and you could always find drawing tools in his bag. It hasn’t changed and Wooyoung’s pretty sure it never will. Though going to the army made him decrease the amount of drawing, once when he finished his service, Wooyoung got accepted into the university of his first choice.

Those years had gone by so fast Wooyoung felt like crying when he graduated. However, he didn’t, because after a few years of studying and internship he was finally a licensed architect. And today was one of those rare days when he’d ride his motorcycle, find a derelict building and create something new in his mind. Just for fun.

Wooyoung wipes the sweat off his forehead, slightly irritated that he has already finished a bottle of water. He purses his lips and stares at his sketch. If only people would buy this building, he'd gladly accept the offer to change it for the better. But he's heard that this area isn't the safest one, for kids especially, so probably that's why everyone ignores this factory. Too bad, so many teenagers are left with nothing. Wooyoung feels a bit sympathetic despite the fact his family was neither poor nor rich. Just an average middle class family and Wooyoung felt content with everything he had (financially). But he knew some families that weren't having it all that well. Wooyoung wasn't exactly the Good Samaritan, but he had enough compassion to understand people. After all, his own family wasn’t perfect as well.

There's something that catches his attention and Wooyoung turns around, noticing three guys, most likely younger than him, making their way towards him. Wooyoung places the pencil in his pocket and closes the sketchbook, his gut feeling telling him something is wrong here. _Just mind your own business_ , he thinks and starts walking the other way.

"Hey, you!" Wooyoung curses inwardly because it's obviously meant for him. He stops and looks at them with a poker face on.

"Excuse me?" His heartbeat accelerates when they stop in front of him. He should’ve known better to stay away from this place as its reputation wouldn't win the award for the most secure place in Busan. Just by looking at the trio and their faces it becomes quite evident they are not going to give him a warm hug and bid a warm farewell. Raunchy tattoos, scars, mean expressions like they're trying to crush him mentally just with their menacing stares, chins up like in a rooster fight.

"Yo, whatcha doin' here? Lookin' for hoes or sumthin'?" The shaved-head gang leader speaks up, his two lapdogs snickering beside him.

"I was just passing by." Wooyoung shrugs and prays he wouldn't need a lot of stitches after this encounter. After all this was clearly not a win-win situation. To make matters worse, he didn't bring his wallet. All the money that could make those intelligence lacking creatures go away in peace... They wouldn't want his driver’s license.

"Yah, listen up, Da Vinci. Ya'll have to pay us if you wanna do sumthin' here." The leader comes even closer, making Wooyoung feel extremely uncomfortable.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know. I forgot my wallet at home and I would gladly pay you if I got any money on me right now." Wooyoung maintains his calm facade, but every particle in his body tells him to just run away, however, it's not an option because these guys might have guns hidden beneath those baggy clothes.

"He says he forgot," the leader snarls and seconds later grabs Wooyoung by his collar. "Bitch, you ain't leavin' without givin' us sumthin'. Ya follow me?"

"I do, but really, I don't have anything valuable on me. Can't we make a deal or something?"

"No, pussy, we ain't gonna make a deal with your lil' rich ass." He punches Wooyoung in the stomach and the latter falls on his knees coughing. "This is our yard, faggot." The trio laughs and Wooyoung gulps, tightening his fists and staring at the ground as the pain hasn't subsided yet. Wooyoung tries to suck it up because he realises he won't win against three guys.

"Your yard?" Another voice appears right behind the bullies and Wooyoung dares to lift his head up. "You dipshits have no idea what I could do to you for even fantasizing about this idea." Says the unknown guy, dressed in simple black jeans and white t-shirt, holding a bag over his shoulder and a cigarette in the other hand. "You, the shitface, come here." He tilts his head as he stares at the leader who has punched Wooyoung.

"Are ya talkin' to me?"

"If you answered it means you're the shitface. Yes." The stranger smirks. "Or are you crapping your pants already? Afraid of one man challenging you? Not capable of anything without your cheer leaders behind your back?" He drops the bag beside him as the raging trio leader storms over to him.

"Repeat your words again, motherfucker." He hisses.

"I don't repeat myself twice, especially for gangster wannabe fucktards like you." The stranger breaks the tension as he presses his burning cigarette to the offender's cheek and kicks him right in the balls. The latter screams falling on the knees in the same position as Wooyoung is in right now. The two lapdogs seem to be hesitant as the guy bends over and Wooyoung hears them whisper _'he has the tattoo'_ and for some reason they look terrified all of a sudden. Wooyoung then stares at the stranger and now that he's bending over, he notices a pattern of stars tattooed on his chest. Wooyoung has no idea what it means though. But using his own logic he assumes it might be related to gangs. Soon, he notices another small tattoo on the wrist which looks like it says _Jun. K_ and Wooyoung guesses it should be a nickname. The Jun. K guy grabs the puncher's hair and stares him right in the eye, the fierce look alone sending chills over Wooyoung's spine. "It seems like your friends have more brain than you. I'll just warn you this time. If I ever see you here in _my_ territory again, you're going to regret this. I can find out your location in a speed of light, because like I've said before - I don't repeat myself twice and as you’re so retarded, words might not be enough." He states calmly and straightens up, releasing the whimpering guy. "Now get the fuck out of here before I changed my mind."

"We're so sorry, thank you very much." Two fellow comrades grab their defeated boss and disappear quickly, leaving the two of them alone.

"And it's only my first day out..." He mumbles and exhales. "How are you?" He looks at Wooyoung and moves closer to him.

"I'm okay, thanks." Wooyoung inhales the scent of tobacco and takes a step back. This must be the happy ending, he thinks as it doesn't look like anything bad is going to happen anytime soon. This guy, whatever his status here is, has just saved him. Wooyoung’s not sure if it was solely for the sheer purpose of helping a person, because that speech about territory seemed to be the main topic of the conversation and ball-kicking.

"You look too proper for this neighbourhood." The saviour glances at Wooyoung's green striped shirt and white jeans. Knees have become dirty though.

"It wasn't my intention to become a punching bag." The stranger smirks at Wooyoung’s reply.

"Is that yours?" He points at the sketchbook lying on the ground.

"Uh, yeah." Wooyoung picks it up and dusts it off gently.

"Can I have a look?" Wooyoung nods and gives him the sketchbook. The guy flips over the pages slowly, analysing his drawings and it surprises Wooyoung a bit, because he didn't imagine a gang member would be interested in things like that. Maybe he's feeding on the stereotype too much, because this one looks much more intelligent than the scumbags from before.

The guy nods to himself a few times and looks back at Wooyoung. "Are you an architect?"

"Yes. This is just a sketchbook. Those are not the actual projects."

"I imagine your actual projects must be even better." He notes and Wooyoung gives him a timid smile.

"Might be."

"What's your name?"

"Jang Wooyoung."

"I'm Kim Minjun, nice to meet you, Mr. Architect Jang." He extends his hand to Wooyoung and the latter shakes it. Minjun's grip is tight, confident and Wooyoung answers with a tight squeeze too. "Just call me Minjun," he adds.

"Nice to meet you too, Minjun." Wooyoung doesn't lie, he feels indebted after getting his well-being saved. Even if this man looks shady after threatening those thugs.

"Listen, it's your choice whether to accept it or not." Minjun gives the sketchbook back to Wooyoung. "Come to this night club tomorrow night. I might have a job offer for you." Minjun takes a business card out of his pocket and gives it to Wooyoung. "The address is on this card. Take your time to think it through. And don't feel obligated to come only because I saved your ass here. I need a reliable person for this thing."

"Thing?" Wooyoung tilts his head slightly and decides to ignore the fact that the job interview was going to take place at a night club.

"Your job offer." Minjun grins, clearly expressing he won't tell anything else.

"Oh..." Wooyoung scratches his neck. No matter what it is, it must be related to architecture and Wooyoung's intrigued by it. Challenges are great. But only those related to the architecture, Wooyoung thinks.

"Minjun-sama!" A large guy with a short ponytail jumps out of a black jeep and runs smiling towards them. Then Wooyoung notices a second guy appearing, but staying right beside the car, hands in his black suit pockets. He looks stern and slightly intimidating as his face looks more like a beautiful mask, which hides a lot of things behind it. Not necessarily good ones. It can’t be good if they really belong to a mob.

“Sama?” Wooyoung mumbles.

“Taecyeon was raised in Japan.” Minjun explains quickly and turns around while Taecyeon grabs his bag off the ground and stares at Wooyoung for a few seconds, making him feel uncomfortable. “See you later.” Minjun raises his hand with his back turned at Wooyoung and just like the way he has showed up, he bids an abrupt farewell in the same manner.

“See you...” Wooyoung replies quietly and watches the scene unfold before him as this Taecyeon guy whispers something into Minjun’s ear and the latter nods, patting his subordinate’s back.

“Yah, Chansung, chill out. We’ve already found Minjun-sama, haven’t we?” Taecyeon opens the door for Minjun and he disappears from Wooyoung's vision, while Taecyeon drops the bag on the back seat. “Chansung, get in for fuck’s sake. Stop scanning the guy.” Taecyeon says nonchalantly and Wooyoung becomes aware of his own existence. He also realises the reason he has been feeling rather odd was actually because this Chansung guy has been staring at him for the entire time. Wooyoung clears his throat and Chansung finally sits behind the steering wheel to drive them away.

Wooyoung gazes at the spot where the black jeep was standing a few seconds ago and it clicks inside his mind.

These people are dangerous.

Moreover, he's late to meet a very important client. "Shit." He curses and runs to his motorcycle.

 

He unlocks the door to his spacious loft apartment, drops the keys on the table and lies down on a soft carpet. It feels so heavenly that Wooyoung twitches slightly when a little wet nose touches his cheek. A soft _meow_ makes his eyes open and more fur gets into his face as his ginger fluffy cat rubs its face into Wooyoung's. "Meow to you too, Mango." He scoops her onto his chest and pets her, but soon she gets out of his embrace and stops in the doorway. "Oh, you're hungry." He sighs and stands up, making his way to the kitchen as Mango wraps herself around his legs, waiting for food. "Here." Wooyoung empties the can into a small bowl and Mango meows in satisfaction, leaving Wooyoung's shins alone.

His stomach growls too and he grabs a leftover sandwich. Wooyoung smells it beforehand and the decent scent is enough for him - he's too tired to cook anything. He bites it and walks over to the sofa munching on his food slowly, grabbing his laptop and turning it on swiftly. It pains him when he remembers he hasn't checked that new architecture website his client Mrs. Cho told him about, because she wanted _'something like what's in that page'_. Wooyoung groans and tries to remember why he accepted to design a building for that lady again. Right, she's famous and if she likes his ideas he might get even more intriguing projects in the future. Suddenly, Mango jumps into his lap and Wooyoung is forced to push the laptop further on his knees. There's something on the sofa that catches his eyes and at first he thinks it's a stain, but it's a business card that fell from his pocket. "Oh..." He stares at it for a while and memories from earlier flood his mind. _I should google that guy_ , he thinks and types _Kim Minjun Jun. K_ into the search bar.

When he hits enter, there's a bunch of articles and Wooyoung scans quickly through the text and few highlights catch his interest.

_Seven Star mob; most likely high ranking; got into prison for beating up a policeman while being under influence; released today._

Today. Wooyoung blinks. That's what he meant by _'it's only my first day out'_? He blinks again and remembers the glimpse of the seven star tattoo he caught on Minjun's chest. Wooyoung stops blinking. He beat up a cop? Drunk? "Damn... That's messed up." Mango meows back at him in agreement.

Five minutes turn into a half an hour, that turns into one hour and Wooyoung completely loses track of time with his hand buried in his cat's fur and the other scrolling through the articles on the internet. Wooyoung wheezes when he sees it's a bit past midnight. Instead of checking that architecture website he has been digging into his dangerous saviour's personal life. However, there wasn't much information about him; as expected he is a very secretive person. That's a given when he supposedly has a pretty high rank in SSM. In the public eye he owns a very successful night club and sports betting company. But rumour has it he deals with loan shark business as well. The rest is unknown. Also, his image was pretty decent (excluding minor accidents like speeding tickets) until he got into the trouble with that policeman, which earned him one year in prison.

Wooyoung puts his laptop away and stares at the massive CD collection on the shelf. His eyes are fixated on nothing in particular, just trying to reassess all that information with Mango purring in his lap.

He saved Wooyoung. That's obviously a plus. The rest isn't that positive. But Wooyoung thinks he shouldn't judge a book by its cover and perhaps he should meet Minjun tomorrow. It's not like he's going to get murdered if he declines Minjun's offer, right? "Right?" He asks and Mango looks at him curiously.

Wooyoung sighs and places his cat on the sofa gently. It's time to check that architecture website, finalize the briefing presentation and go to sleep. He still has time to reconsider things.

 

Meeting with Mrs. Cho turned out to be a success. All Wooyoung had to do after his presentation was to smile and keep shaking his head politely, because all she did was praising his architecture skills. Her husband was more reserved but it was clear enough he liked the building design as well. Everything ended with their signatures on a contract and Wooyoung left them with a smile on his face. As he walks out, his phone rings and he checks a new message from his sister.

_Oppa, where are you?? I'm waiting in that coffee shop! Hurry up!_

He replies and walks faster until he sees a huge cloud signboard stuffed with smiling paper cups. Wooyoung shakes his head inwardly; that's the type of a place his sister can't resist. Cute, cute and more cute. And coffee. 

He enters the coffee shop and sees his sister waving at him, which makes it easier to locate her as this place is rather spacious. Good choice, he thinks, because he wouldn't love to get a panic attack due to his claustrophobia. A condition he cannot fight against and has many problems with it. 

"Hey, how did that meeting go?" She gives him a quick hug and they both settle down. A cup of coffee already waiting for Wooyoung. 

"Straight to the business, Suzy. It went well, we made a deal." He sips on the drink. "How's university? Any new admirers I should be aware of?" 

"Like I would tell you," she sticks her tongue out. "I got a fanclub though." 

Wooyoung almost chokes on his coffee. "You got what?" 

"I'm just joking." Suzy giggles. "I know my brother would kill them all, wouldn't you?" She bats her thick eyelashes and makes the sweetest face, which makes Wooyoung sigh. 

"I'm not that good at killing people. Nor beating them up." A visual of yesterday appears in his mind and Wooyoung starts staring at the same spot without realising it. 

"Did..." Suzy's voice wakes him up. "Did something happen?" She gets serious all of a sudden. 

Wooyoung thinks for a moment if he could tell her, but if there is one person who knows everything about Wooyoung - she's sitting right in front of him. Suzy deserves to know. She has always been there for him. "Three thugs wanted to assault me yesterday." He sees a change in Suzy's face and smiles immediately, assuring her everything is fine now. "I was saved though." 

"Oh my God! You scared me there!" She squeals and when people look at them she just smiles innocently and calms down. "You were saved, that's the most important thing, right? Did you repay that person?" 

"Well..." Wooyoung locks his fingers. "That's where the plot twist happens. Ever heard of the Seven Star Mob?" 

"I think so... Yeah..." Suzy begins staring at her brother suspiciously. 

"Apparently, he belongs to SSM. And he's pretty important. Also, he asked me to come over to his night club for a job offer tonight." 

"Hold on, hold on..." Suzy leans back and shakes her head. "So, you're telling me you were saved by a gang member and he asked you to come for a job interview at night? You must realise how that sounds, right?" 

"I do." He deadpans and gazes at her face. 

"Wait... No..." Suzy's eyes widen. "NO!" 

"Why not?" 

"Why not?!" She notices people looking at them again and leans in, whispering in a very menacing tone. "Because he's dangerous!" 

"I'm not from a gang. I doubt he'd offer me a job like _that_ anyway. Whatever he wants to talk about must be related to my work - architecture. I'm not obliged to accept whatever he offers. He seemed to be pretty interested in my sketches." It sounds like a very well-rehearsed speech, but Wooyoung just shrugs and tries to convince them both. Despite that the idea still sounds rather insane, but Wooyoung’s too attracted to it for some reason. 

Suzy releases an exasperated sigh, because she knows when Wooyoung goes for something, he doesn't look back. Even though this sounds more like an offering to the devil with Wooyoung tied with a ribbon on a porcelain plate. Suzy leans back and growls. "You are insane. Really. I have no words. Suicide mission. My brother is going to get killed tonight and I don't even have the time to prepare for a proper burial ceremony. Amazing." 

"Hey, don't overreact. I'll call you right after we're done, okay?" 

"I think it’s impossible to make a call from heaven." 

"Suzy..." Wooyoung pleads for understanding. 

She folds her arms on her chest and rolls her eyes. "Okay okay... You have my blessing and all that stuff. Just be safe, okay?" She looks back at him, worry written all over her face. 

"I love you." He smiles and kisses her hand, but Suzy looks away dramatically. 

"If only our parents knew... Maybe..." She adds silently. 

Wooyoung leans back and locks his gaze on the office building outside. "They wouldn't care. They have you and that's plenty. I'm fine with that and you know it." 

"But..." Her sad voice makes Wooyoung feel bittersweet and he doesn’t like that feeling. 

"Suzy," he looks at her. "Really. Forget about it. I have to go now." He stands up and his sister walks over to him and hugs him so tight Wooyoung wonders where that strength is coming from. "You should join wrestling club." 

"Yah." She punches his chest. "You better call me right after leaving that club or I'll call the cops." 

"Deal." Wooyoung tousles her hair and leaves before she punches him again. 

\- 

He chooses blue jeans, grey shirt with Michael Jackson’s face printed on it and a black leather jacket. This is not formal attire but neither is the "interview". Wooyoung nods to himself and hops on his motorcycle. The evening feels nice, fresh breeze dances around his neck where the helmet and jacket doesn't cover up his skin well. The closer Wooyoung gets to that place, the more anxious he starts to feel. Wooyoung tries to reason with himself on a mental level, but it doesn't help much. He remembers the sad look Mango gave him and an old proverb clouds his mind - curiosity killed the cat. Why is he going there? Sure, a new project would be cool and all, but this is not an ordinary client. Maybe that's why..? 

He suddenly feels like a time-traveller, because he has just stopped in front of _Back2U_ Minjun's night club. No turning back now, Wooyoung sighs and abandons his motorcycle. He notices a line of people, who want to get into the club, and a security guard, who looks like a massive refrigerator. He’s standing emotionless with what it looks like a list in his hands. Wooyoung makes his way towards the Refrigerator and he feels daggers of jealousy and dissatisfaction jabbing his back. 

"Hey, my name should be on this list. Jang Wooyoung." Wooyoung's fingers fidget in his pockets as if waiting for a judge’s verdict. 

The Refrigerator looks at him suspiciously, but then he nods and speaks into a tiny microphone attached to his ear. "The guy's here, let the boss know." 

The door opens and Wooyoung darts in, loud music blasting everywhere. The corridor has black walls and long, differently coloured neon lamps. It feels like a maze and Wooyoung prays that the dance floor would be spacious, because he already feels anxious. Panic attack would be the worst that could happen to him. The music gets louder with each step and when Wooyoung sees the black curtain, he guesses all the fun is behind it. He doesn't hesitate this time and walks confidently through the black material and when he sees the view before him, Wooyoung's throat shuts down. 

The hall has a rather high ceiling, but the amount of people in here is what makes Wooyoung's heart stop. Some girl grabs his wrist and tries to drag him into the crowd of doom, but Wooyoung starts trashing and almost falls on his back, however, the wall is his saviour. He knows he needs to get out of here ASAP, because his heartbeat is accelerating and he has trouble breathing, which is an obvious sign of having a panic attack. Wooyoung turns around, breathing heavily, and runs to the exit. While he does so, it feels like mission impossible, because that maze-like corridor seems longer and more confusing than before. The fear makes him feel worse with every second and he's forcing himself to breathe properly, but he fails as he catches air like a fish. 

_Exit._

Wooyoung opens the door with such force, he smashes into the line of people and completely ignores them cursing at him as he dashes away and turns around the corner. He stops and leans back onto the cold wall, panting heavily. Wooyoung clutches at his chest and tries to inhale every single oxygen particle, because it feels like his heart is about to burst. Wooyoung starts walking in a small circle, flapping his jacket, when a familiar voice startles him slightly. 

"I thought you were an architect, not a rugby player." Wooyoung looks at Minjun, dressed in a black suit and white t-shirt, his hair styled up. Different from his previous image. 

"I should've asked you if this place was claustrophobic-friendly." Wooyoung's breathing gets a bit steadier. 

Minjun chuckles. "Oh, I didn't expect you to be a claustrophobic." 

"I know, right? An architect and a claustrophobic on top of that! Maybe I should wear a badge, so people would help me avoid panic attacks!" Wooyoung raises his hands up dramatically and Minjun laughs at him, covering his mouth with the back of his hand. 

"I take it you won't come inside." 

"If you want me to die, I can." 

"That's wasn't my intention." 

"Awesome." Silence falls down upon them and Wooyoung realises this small talk actually helped him to regain his calm. Now he just feels a bit embarrassed. Maybe more than a bit. 

"Are you fine now?" Minjun asks and gets a cigarette out of his pocket. 

"Yes. Sorry." Wooyoung watches the latter walking closer to him and when Minjun stops right in front of him, Wooyoung notices two shadows lurking not too far away. Must be those guys from before. 

"Do you have a light?" Minjun asks with the cigarette moving on the corner of his mouth. 

"Uh, yeah." Wooyoung fishes it out of his pocket and Minjun leans in, staring right into Wooyoung's eyes as the thing ignites and the smell tickles the architect's nose. 

"Thanks." Minjun pulls away. "You don't look like you smoke. Why are you carrying that around?" 

"My clients often ask for light. So I got a lighter." Wooyoung explains and Minjun seems satisfied with this answer. 

"You know..." Minjun exhales smoke. "I didn't think you'd come. I bet you did your homework on me." He implies the obvious, which is impossible to ignore now as they talk in a pretty dark alley. 

Wooyoung stuffs his hands into the pockets. "I did." 

"Doesn't that scare you?" Minjun is grinning now, testing Wooyoung more. 

"Should it?" 

Minjun inhales another dose of poisonous smoke and smiles. "I don't know. You tell me? All architects were gone as soon as my name was mentioned. And you showed up." He exhales. "A person in my position might think you're a cop, but that's bullshit." 

"Why?" 

"Because no one would send a claustrophobic to deal with me." Wooyoung snorts. That's true. And Minjun keeps talking in riddles, nothing too straightforward, so even being outside where anyone could hear them doesn't seem like a threat. Minjun doesn't see Wooyoung as a threat. 

"You must've done your research about me as well. How did you like my projects?" 

"Impressive." Minjun takes his time and blows out more smoke. Wooyoung notices the shadows of the two men standing still and he bets if he'd try to injure Minjun, Wooyoung's death would be slow and painful. _'Why am I even thinking about that?'_ , Wooyoung purses his lips. So far Minjun hasn't done anything bad. Or illegal. "You see..." He interrupts Wooyoung's thoughts. "I need someone whom I could trust. You realise trust in _my_ world is essential." Wooyoung nods. "I need a new living house. A very safe one. 

"That I can do." 

"Really?" Minjun crushes the cigarette under his shiny black shoe. 

"I just have one condition." 

"Oh, you have conditions..." Minjun grins. "I'm listening." 

"Whatever it is. Do not involve me in your business." 

"That I can do." He repeats Wooyoung's words. "However, there might be consequences for communicating with me." 

Wooyoung raises his eyebrows. "Like what?" 

"A friendly chat with the police about our extracurricular activities." He explains. 

"Just prepare a contract with a condition to keep my mouth shut about the project and they won't be able to extract a word from me. Legally." Wooyoung shrugs as it's always been one of the most important rules in his work. Confidentiality of a client. 

"Wooyoung." Minjun draws all attention again, somehow boring so deep into Wooyoung’s eyes it feels like an x-ray machine. 

"Yes?" 

"Why did you come here?" 

His question is like a ball hitting Wooyoung's head and he feels confused as to what this answer should sound like. Wooyoung zips up his jacket and comes closer to Minjun, noticing how the two shadows move closer as well, and speaks quietly. "I don't believe curiosity kills all the cats." 

Minjun grins and extends his hand to Wooyoung, talking to the architect in his velvet voice. “After all, they have nine lives, right?” Wooyoung touches Minjun’s hand and their handshake is firm. “It’s a deal then.” 

“Deal.” Wooyoung replies. 

Minjun walks away and as he does so, he glances back at Wooyoung. “I’ll send you the details and I’ll meet you on Monday. See ya.” 

It becomes quiet in the street and Wooyoung blinks his eyes quickly a few times, as if waking up from a dream. A rather odd dream. And then he whispers to himself. “What?”  
He really did it. Wooyoung has just made a deal with someone, whom he, as a sane man, should’ve avoided at any cost. Suddenly, his phone rings and Wooyoung grabs it in a hurry. 

_Should I call the cops now?_

Wooyoung doesn’t know if he should laugh or cry. So he just replies quickly. 

_They’ll find me when they need it. P.S. I’m fine._


	2. Chapter 2

[ ](http://s66.photobucket.com/user/ielektrinta/media/wk2.png.html)

He wakes up panting and looks around quickly, as if looking for someone. Mango’s sleeping peacefully on the edge of Wooyoung’s bed and he knows it was just another bad dream. _No_ , Wooyoung places his wet palm on his face, it’s just an old memory he’d like to forget. There are things that make people mature faster and leave the lives they used to have behind. He was still a teenager back then. Wooyoung glances at an electronic clock placed on a night-table and sees there’s 10 minutes left to 7AM. There’s no use going back to sleep as his alarm clock is set for 7.

Wooyoung showers slowly, thinking about that old memory and curses himself that he doesn’t have the strength to bury it down completely, to erase it permanently. It’s still a part of his life. Wooyoung massages his head and streams of shampoo bubbles run down his face. How many tears has he shed to ask his parents for forgiveness? Wooyoung has no clue. It doesn’t matter anymore. He has moved on ever since then.

They were just fooling around with each other, their last year in high school. Wooyoung was the one who approached him, but it wasn’t straightforward. He was looking for signs and when he got them Wooyoung didn’t think twice. That’s how their secret relationship started. It wasn’t very serious, something that was just a few weeks old, but Wooyoung was head over heels for that guy. Now that he thinks about it, Wooyoung feels the guy might’ve just been in an experimental phase. Otherwise, how could such crude betrayal happen?

It happened after Wooyoung’s football practice. Curious touching and kissing in the locker room, and ignorance – that was their mistake. Unfortunate timing of events, including a teacher, who found them doing something that was a taboo. Wooyoung was in a less fortunate position as he had the guy trapped between himself and the wall, kissing his neck. Seconds later, he found himself lying on the floor, pushed away like a diseased person. His mind couldn’t register what was happening, but the person whom Wooyoung thought was supposed to be a partner in this love crime, was telling the teacher how Wooyoung forced himself upon him. The guy cried, clinging to the teacher. He was telling him how scared he was and how much he was grateful the teacher had found them. It was hard not to believe him because his acting could’ve won him an award. Wooyoung just stared at his face and he saw panic. And deep down he saw fear and disgust. Wooyoung couldn’t understand why.

Then his parents were called out of work and Wooyoung just stood there silently, listening to everyone speaking in the room. Parents of both parties and the teacher. Wooyoung was in shock; he couldn’t open his mouth as this betrayal made him fall into some sort of a surreal trance. He got out of it only when they got home and the realisation of the consequences pierced him so deep he had to pinch himself to make sure it wasn't a very realistic nightmare. His world crashed completely when his parents asked him to leave the house for disgracing their family and Wooyoung did so. He didn’t have a choice. Suzy was the only one, who asked him to stay, but she had no say in this. Wooyoung couldn’t stand that broken expression she had on her face, but he knew he had at least one person on his side.

Financial help for his studies was the only thing Wooyoung received from his parents. He’d send them flowers on their birthdays, but he’d never got a reply. Wooyoung was dead to them. The only distorted expression of the parental love was money for his studies. He was an abomination and that was said to him very clearly when he was asked to leave the house.

Wooyoung turns the tap off and grabs a towel, moving towards the mirror. It still hurts. His hand swipes through the steamy surface and he looks at his reflection. Ever since that day he couldn’t get into a serious relationship. Wooyoung would find someone, but eventually he’d leave the person without explaining anything before the relationship could’ve taken another step forward.

He still had hope his parents would forgive him someday. It was silly, but that tiny bit of faith was burning somewhere deep down. Even though Wooyoung tried rationalizing and it felt like all this wishful thinking was in vain. _Stupid_ , he scoffs at his reflection. It’s painful. Wooyoung wonders when it will disappear. It must at some point. It’s been 10 years after all.

“Grow up, Wooyoung.” He speaks to the reflection and sighs, because memories like this cannot be erased even after such a long time. It frustrates Wooyoung; he thought he was coping well with this until that memory returned in his dreams last night. Why?

 

Busanjin-gu is always busy. Wooyoung glides with his motorcycle through the traffic jam, earning jealous glares from the trapped car owners. It takes a few more minutes and he’s in front of the architecture studio, which opened doors a few months ago. It’s not that big, but Wooyoung’s sure, in a few years, it will expand. Having Fei as his partner, who’s got a bit more experience as she’d older than him, turned out to be quite an advantage.

“Good morning!” Min greets him, her desk stacked with documents waiting for a lot of paperwork to be done. As Wooyoung and Fei started getting more clients, Min became the pillar of this studio. The one who has to suffer doing all the paperwork for contracts and whatnot.

“Hi, my lovely assistant.” Wooyoung winks at her, making Min roll her eyes.

“Yah, you better raise my wage. I’m doing so much of boring work here for you.”

“I thought you had a man for those matters.” Wooyoung places his motorcycle helmet on the window sill. The sunlight coming through the windows and makes the office look bigger though it’s rather small.

“Hmph, I don’t need a man.” She sticks her tongue out at him.

“Then your current wage will do just fine, won’t it?” Wooyoung teases her more and Min threatens him with a shoe.

“You kids are always so cheerful in the morning...” Fei opens the door of her cabinet and joins Min, sitting on the corner of her desk. “So, Mrs. Cho liked your design?” She looks at her male companion, her long hair tied in a high ponytail. Wooyoung met Fei during his internship as she was already a freshly licensed architect working for someone else, and after many months of talking they've decided to open a studio together. Fei was the person who made Wooyoung take the risk and start this business together. He didn't have much money as an architect without a license, but she had faith in him and Wooyoung couldn't miss a chance to be partners with her. She was like a very strong shoulder he needed at the time.

Wooyoung's mischievousness disappears as he looks at Fei gently. “Yeah, she’s in love with it. I was worried a bit since ballet school is something completely new to me. But we signed the contract already, so Min will have more work to do.” Min is about to say something back, most likely complaining about the workload, but Wooyoung cuts her off before she even starts. “Also, I got another client. And I think we need a second assistant, because our poor Min will die without seeing the sunlight beneath all those papers.”

Min exhales and slumps in her chair. “For once, I might have a chance to get a few days off. Pleaaaase, hire another person to help me out~?” Min bats her eyelashes, resting her chin on her fists. Wooyoung glances at Fei and she nods, making this an official statement between them. “Also, who’s the new client?”

“About that...” Wooyoung licks his lips, preparing for four judgmental eyes to be laid on him. “Have you ever heard of Kim Minjun or am I the only one local mob illiterate person here?”

Fei’s jaw drops down. “You must be crazy, but I hope you know what you’re doing.”

“I heard he’s just got out of prison... Are you sure you want to work for him?” Min asks cautiously and Wooyoung has something unpleasant cringing in his stomach. It feels like convincing Suzy all over again.

“Yes. We agreed he wouldn’t involve me into his _business_.” The girls keep quiet, staring at Wooyoung and saying nothing. “Hey, don’t worry. I have high expectations from this project.”

“Dirty money...” Fei looks away mumbling.

“Oh, come on...” Wooyoung reclines his head exasperatedly. "You had a few corrupted politicians too."

“It’s a different story, but fine, I’m zipping up.” Fei imitates the action with her fingers. “I’m leaving. My client is waiting. Good luck with your Star, Wooyoung. It must be them parking outside.” Fei nods towards the window and they see a black van and three men getting out of it. “I hope I won’t find any dead bodies when I’m back.” She smirks and leaves the building before the trio comes in.

“How am I supposed to talk to them?” Min hisses, touching her hair and trying to tame her thick short locks.

“Just be polite, I suppose. Like always.” Wooyoung shrugs it off and unlocks his office door. Just when he pulls the key out, Minjun and his men enter the studio.

“Good morning, such a pretty lady you have there.” Minjun smiles and Min chuckles nervously.

“Oh, you’re making me feel so embarrassed, thank you.” She extends her hand to him and Minjun kisses her knuckles gently. Wooyoung stares at the scene smiling, because Min’s clearly perplexed and her cheeks are slightly red. What happened to the _he's dangerous_ talk?

“This is Min, our assistant here.” Wooyoung chimes in. “So, you came to talk about the project, come over here to my office.”

“Stay here.” Minjun commands and walks towards Wooyoung who’s holding the door for him, leaving the sullen looking Chansung and indifferent Taecyeon with Min.

“Do you want coffee or anything else?” Wooyoung closes the door.

“No, thanks. This is a rather artsy office you have here.” Minjun looks around the room, lime walls decorated with pictures and sketches of buildings. He walks past Wooyoung’s table, equipped with all the necessary drawing tools. “Don’t tell me you’ve designed them all?” Minjun glances at Wooyoung.

“Not all of it, I’ve got my architecture license just a year ago. But someday...” Wooyoung walks past Minjun and sits in his chair. “Please, sit down.”

Minjun sits down, placing his right ankle on his left knee. “Have you seen the documents I’ve sent you earlier?”

“Yes. Min will have to check the details and we will be able to sign the contract tomorrow.”

“You still haven’t changed your mind?” Minjun leans in, placing his elbows on the table.

“Do you want me to?” Wooyoung thinks that for a mobster Minjun cares too much for the architect's welfare, but then he remembers Minjun wants to be safe and having an unreliable person working for him would be very complicated. However, Wooyoung doesn’t have any intention to chicken out. He’s a man of word. In addition, Wooyoung has this strange feeling this might be a huge opportunity for something bigger. Like a trampoline.

“Just checking.” Minjun grins and leans back. “You know my requirements for the house. Completely safe.”

“So that includes a high fence, cameras, bulletproof glass, movement sensors... What else?” Wooyoung bends his fingers counting things.

“A panic room and an escape tunnel.”

Wooyoung raises his eyebrow. “Alright. You’ll have your fortress. But I have to ask about your finances, because the stuff you want is rather exquisite, thus, very expensive.”

Minjun taps his fingers on the table, drawing Wooyoung’s attention to a few silver rings. No gold. Wooyoung’s eyes return to Minjun’s calm face. “Well... I thought it was obvious money wasn’t an issue for me. Can I smoke here?”

Wooyoung glances at the ceiling. “Sorry, smoke detectors are very evil here. But wait...” He rummages through the drawers. “Here, maybe this will help a bit.”

Minjun gives Wooyoung a doubtful look, but takes the small package nonetheless. “ _Sour patch kids_? Really?”

“As long as you have something in your mouth... I mean, it keeps you busy, chewing and all...” Minjun snorts at him, tasting the sweets carefully. A crease forms between Minjun’s thick eyebrows as he reacts to the sour taste, but soon his expression goes back to normal.

“Hm, not bad.” He nods his head slowly and continues eating. “So, back to the money topic. You don’t have to worry about that. Just get the best stuff for me, the highest quality and make my house perfect.”

“Alright, got it. I know some very reliable providers. Part of the stuff might be available for order only from foreign countries though. But since I’m free to order anything that is high quality I’ll begin taking care of that in advance. Shipping takes some time. Anything else?” Wooyoung interlaces his fingers. It feels quite nice to have so much freedom in the aspect of money.

“We should check my site in Haeundae-gu.” Minjun chews on the last soft candy and Wooyoung’s astonished at how he managed to finish them so fast. "Shall we go now?"

“Uh, yes. I was just about to ask about that.” Wooyoung stands up and opens the door, but when he sees Taecyeon chatting with Min, sitting very close to her, his brother instinct awakens and he feels very protective of his cute assistant all of a sudden. And she was reprimanding him about Minjun just 20 minutes ago.

“If she’s your girl, I can tell Taec to back off.” Minjun whispers into Wooyoung’s ear and that startles him slightly.

“She’s more like a sister. But I’d appreciate if our _business_ wouldn’t mix.” Minjun grins and abandons Wooyoung’s personal bubble, walking towards the studio entrance. Min notices her boss looking at her, so she excuses herself quickly and walks over to Wooyoung, with Taecyeon’s eyes glued to her back. “We’re going to the site. Start working on the contract, we need it by tomorrow.” Wooyoung says.

“Got it. By the way,” she leans in and whispers. “Taecyeon is pretty hot and smart... One wouldn’t expect that from... You know.” Her eyes dart somewhere to the left.

“Yeah, it’s rather weird he hires super models to work for him. Their appearance is deceptive though.” Wooyoung glances at the lot and catches Chansung glaring at him. He prays the creepy mobster didn’t hear this. “Anyway, don’t fall for the guy. A friendly advice from your boss.” Wooyoung winks at Min and she gives him a judgmental look. As if telling him _who are you to tell me to stay away from that mob guy when you’re about to sign a contract with another one_ , but Wooyoung just pats her shoulder and goes outside together with the Seven Star trio.

Minjun’s standing by his car when he notices Wooyoung looking at the vehicle with a crease between his eyebrows. “What? I will give you a lift.”

Wooyoung scratches his arm as he lifts up his helmet. “Claustrophobics and cars don’t go well together. I’ll follow you behind on my motorcycle.”

Minjun shrugs. “As you wish. Is this yours?” He points his finger at the black motorcycle, decorated with red details, parked beside their van.

“Yeah.” Wooyoung approaches his motorcycle and puts the helmet on.

“How come you can wear a helmet? Shouldn’t that freak you out?” Minjun asks him, a sincere curiosity reflecting in his dark eyes and Wooyoung catches himself staring right into that hypnotising depth, so he shakes his head slightly. He sees Taecyeon also staring at him through an open window, waiting for an answer. Wooyoung can't help but think Taecyeon looks like a very curious cat. Somewhat like Mango.

“It used to. But it’s a modular helmet, not a full face one, so my peripheral vision isn’t blocked, my chin isn’t trapped. Actually,” Wooyoung smiles when he remembers it. “I had to wear the helmet at home to get used to it. It took me a few weeks.”

“Watching TV, eating... Everything with your helmet on?” Wooyoung nods. “Sick. You have guts. Maybe you can be cured.” Minjun smirks and closes the helmet shield for Wooyoung unexpectedly. The architect's reflexes work fast and Wooyoung’s hands catch Minjun’s, pressing them to the helmet. Minjun tilts his head grinning. “Easy there, I’m not dangerous. Not now.”

Wooyoung pulls back his hands quickly, the feeling of embarrassment making him curse inside his mind. He doesn’t want to look like a paranoid boy. His fear always brings out those feelings he hates the most. Vulnerable and weak. This is not who he is and Wooyoung has only himself to blame for bruising his own ego. Again and again, he needs to learn how to control himself better. How to become stronger. “Sorry. Weird reflexes.”

“Weird or not, they can safe one’s life.” There’s certainty in his voice and Wooyoung realises those words must be real. It sounds as if he’s speaking from his own experience. Minjun turns around and opens the car door. “See you at the site.” And just like that, Wooyoung’s embarrassment is gone.

 

The area seems to be inhabited by rich people, the exterior of exceptional mansions telling Wooyoung just how much money there might’ve been invested. High fences, cameras, dogs barking and whatnot – it doesn’t surprise him as it used to during his first year of studies. Since then he has seen many buildings and even more of exquisite architecture. Now it just pokes his curiosity, thinking who might’ve designed those houses. Some of them look like a statement that the person has no taste, but owns a ton of money. Wooyoung smirks to himself slowing down in front of an empty patch of ground.

Minjun’s site has the best spot in the neighbourhood; the beautiful panoramic view of the city downhill includes a glimpse of far away sea. Wooyoung thinks there must’ve been a house erected in this place before and his assumptions are confirmed by the remains of a burned down fence and substructure. He doesn’t waste his time guessing how that could’ve happened. Anything could happen if you’re Kim Minjun.  
He leaves the helmet on his motorcycle and walks over to Minjun, who decides there’s no need to be followed by Taecyeon and Chansung. He waits for Wooyoung and they move across the untended grass. “That’s a very nice site.” Wooyoung notes.

“Thanks. It used to belong to some actor. Wooyoung,” Minjun stops and stares at him. “I didn’t burn the house down if that’s what you’re thinking.”

Wooyoung doesn’t have the strength to keep a serious face on as he snorts involuntarily, revealing his thoughts in a very abrupt manner. However, it doesn’t seem like Minjun’s mad or affected by it in any unpleasant way. Wooyoung concludes he must be used to not the best opinions about him. He clears his throat. “I didn’t mean to offend you or anything... ”

“It’s okay; we have to trust each other, right?” Minjun squeezes Wooyoung’s shoulder, the latter not used to such a familiar behaviour between him and the client. But he keeps the thought to himself. Trust. Right, it’s not easy.

“Sure.” He smiles back. “No house will match yours in the aspects of safety in Busan. But it will take more time to build it since you want an escape underground route. Let’s not forget the documentation part. This is what takes the most of the time.”

“About that...” Minjun takes a cigarette out and lights it, inhaling the smoke. Wooyoung looks at his profile as Minjun closes his eyes, enjoying the tobacco. He exhales slowly and opens his eyes. “How long it might take?”

“Up to a couple of months. Bureaucracy at its worst.” Wooyoung digs his hands into his pockets. This is the part he hates the most. Piles of documents and permissions have to be granted in order to build a house.

“I don’t have that much time. This has to be done faster.” Another cloud of smoke leaves his lungs.

“I can’t do anything about it, unfortunately...” Wooyoung shrugs but then his shoulders are wrapped in Minjun’s warmth as the latter hangs his arm over Wooyoung’s shoulders.

With a cigarette in his mouth, Minjun leans in and his voice is low, making Wooyoung hunch a little. “I can.”

Wooyoung turns his head to see Minjun’s gaze boring into him from up close. “Huh?”

“I can pull some strings. People love money. Especially bureaucrats.” Minjun smirks. Once again, he knows what he’s talking about and Wooyoung doesn’t have any reasons to say no to this. Bribing people isn’t something he encourages, but if he doesn’t have anything to do with it...

Wooyoung suddenly feels surprised at how he’s okay with this idea. A little thorn of conscience prickles him, but it takes a few more seconds to push it away and Wooyoung sighs. “If that’s how you want it to be, then let it be so... I hate dealing with bureaucrats.”

Minjun pulls away and grins, patting Wooyoung’s back. “I like you.” Wooyoung raises one eyebrow at that remark. It doesn’t feel bad to be liked by a client. Or a mobster. Right? Wooyoung purses his lips.

“Thanks...”

“Listen, I’m going to Japan to do some business with Taec. I’ll sign that contract tomorrow and leave immediately.” Minjun exhales smoke. “I’ll be back in 3 weeks or so.”

Wooyoung furrows his eyebrows. “What about the documents, house design and all? I need you for that.”

“I’ll leave Chansung with you.” Wooyoung feels like he has just been stabbed. Chansung. No way. This is not going to work.

“Are you sure..?” He asks, hoping there’s another Chansung he doesn’t know about. Someone who’s actually able to communicate without tormentful glaring.

“You know, they’re not exactly my bodyguards. That too, but they’re very smart guys I trust.” Minjun drops the cigarette and crushes it with this shoe. “Chansung will deal with everything and if my opinion will be necessary he will contact you. We live in the age of amazing technologies, don’t we?” He takes a few steps forward. “And I think he’ll be done with all the documentations when I’m back. So, you can work on the building design and other things.”

“Minjun-sama, there’s a call from Japan.” Taecyeon interrupts them, appearing out of the blue with a phone in his hands.

Minjun takes the phone and glances at Wooyoung. “Chansung trusts no one, but he’s reliable. Don’t let him intimidate you.” He has an all-knowing grin on his face. “See you in a couple of weeks. Hi, it’s me...” Minjun walks away with the phone pressed to his ear.

However, Taecyeon stays idle and Wooyoung bobs his head forward, eyebrows arched up in question. “Something’s wrong?”

“Could you give me Min’s phone number?” Taecyeon stares at him expectantly, all his mob qualities invisible at the moment. It’s hard not to laugh at him, because he honestly seems interested in her.

“You should ask her yourself. I’m just an architect, not a cupid. No hard feelings. Have fun in Japan.” Wooyoung walks past him and Taecyeon grabs his arm, startling Wooyoung. His grip is tight.

Wooyoung stares up at him as Taecyeon looks back, his eyes intense like never before, but Wooyoung doesn’t give in. Taecyeon can’t do anything to him. Right? Wooyoung feels like teasing a lion, but to his surprise, Taecyeon’s gloomy face breaks into a laugh. “Balls of steel you’ve got there, Wooyoung-san. You could become one of us.” Taecyeon releases him. “No wonder Minjun-sama sees something in you. See you later.” The taller male waves his hand and leaves Wooyoung alone.

He gazes at the black van as it leaves the road and shakes his head. Balls of steel or not, Wooyoung’s still not looking forward to meeting Chansung all on his own. Having Minjun around is much more comfortable.


	3. Chapter 3

[ ](http://s66.photobucket.com/user/ielektrinta/media/wk3.png.html)

A cup of steaming tea sits on the table as Wooyoung gazes at Minjun signing the contract. The latter's cologne fills Wooyoung's nostrils and he thinks it'd be great if that pleasant scent wouldn't evaporate from his office. It must be one of those luxurious perfumes where one drop is enough for an entire week, the architect decides as he owns something similar as well. A gift from Fei she had brought from Paris.

Minjun's signature is neat and artsy looking, which makes Wooyoung wonder if the mobster has any hidden talents. He doesn't know that much about his client; it bothers him at times. Wooyoung's used to having rather warm relationship with his clients, but it never crosses the line of his professionalism. He'd ask about their job or family, just to make everyone feel more comfortable around him. But this person is different. He has so many walls built around him. Wooyoung feels somewhat similar, because he has his own walls too. And yet, Chansung is a complete iceberg compared to Minjun. Wooyoung glances at him, as he stands outside leaning on the car, while his boss is signing the documents in Wooyoung's office.

"I have something for you." Minjun's velvet voice interrupts Wooyoung's thoughts.

"For me? I hope it's a ticket to Hawaii." He jokes, which makes Minjun grin.

"Ah, maybe next time." Minjun’s hand slips into the pocket and he places a white mobile phone on the table, pushing it towards Wooyoung through the sleek surface. "Use this to contact me. This phone is safe." Minjun doesn't elaborate and Wooyoung nods, understanding the meaning immediately.

"You think through every detail, don't you?"

"It's a part of my life, yes. Safety goes first. Also, it has Chansung's and Taecyeon's phone numbers." Minjun taps the table with his slender fingers and adds, “Just in case.”

"Excellent, so I can send you my sketches and whatnot with this, right?" Wooyoung twiddles the phone in his hands. It makes him feel oddly superior, knowing this phone won't be tracked by the police.

"Yeah, I think it'll be easier to communicate that way. Though you'll still have Chansung dealing with the documents and the bureaucrats." Minjun smirks when he notices that sour expression appear for a millisecond on the architect's face. "When do you think Min will be done preparing the file?"

"In a few days. I'll text Chansung to collect the documents ASAP." The mobster nods slowly a few times as if counting something in his mind. The gesture makes him look cautious.

"Great. Well, I'll see you in a few weeks. I hope we can start working on substructure when I'm back." Minjun stands up and extends his hand.

"It depends on Chansung and his _persuasion_ skills." Wooyoung grins while shaking his client's hand. He thinks it is amazing how they cannot talk about mob related things (like bribery) in an overt manner due to possible spying. However, they always manage to find the words and read between the lines like nobody's business. It's thrilling and Wooyoung loves that tiny bit of their mystery. 

 

Mrs. Cho and her husband invite Wooyoung for lunch to talk over the building matters over a glass of wine. Wooyoung's not really the kind of a person to drink in the middle of the day, so him driving a motorcycle is a great excuse to be on Team Juice. Preparations for the ballet school are going pretty smooth and his clients have felt like sharing the joy with him.

Wooyoung thinks of a poodle when he sees Mrs. Cho's new hairstyle, because sometimes rich people cannot tell the difference between stylish and ridiculous. When the lady notices him staring at the imitation of a curly dog on her head, Wooyoung compliments her hair by saying her curls are very fashionable and she adds an ecstatic _‘I know, right?!’_ , touching his wrist. Her husband seems to be completely unaffected by her flirtatious behaviour (he, on the other hand, looks like a calm bloodhound). Wooyoung has a feeling they're more like business partners rather than husband and wife. Wouldn't be the first ones he has met. The married couple pay for the lunch, asking Wooyoung to join them for a fancy supper sometime.

Wooyoung feels drained mentally when he leaves them and it doesn't get any better when he's back to the office and the Iceberg shows up minutes later. It's like someone has decided to film Punk'd and Wooyoung has been chosen as the victim. Wooyoung invites Chansung into his room and opens the drawer to find the stack of documents, prepared for money loving bureaucrats. "You got a new assistant?" Chansung inquires his voice nonchalant.

"Yeah," Wooyoung glances at him for a brief moment and fishes the file out of the drawer. "Jia will be helping Min as the workload has increased recently."

"Did you check her background?"

Wooyoung raises his eyebrows as he hands the file to Chansung. "What do you mean?"

"I think you know what I mean. Hiring someone right after you sign the contract with... Boss. I think you should make a thorough research on your future employees. Their qualifications and stuff." He states, looking as strict as ever. Wooyoung’s suddenly reminded of the old days in the army.

"Listen, I think her business administration diploma is enough of a proof. It’s legitimate." Wooyoung's blood starts boiling. There's a limit to how much one can be paranoid. He'd like to tell Chansung to stop watching criminal TV shows, but rationality stops him there. Also, he’s not sure if Chansung watches TV at all as he looks like the type who’d read psychology books 24/7 just to make people around him feel inferior. "Besides, I've already checked her. She graduated last year."

Chansung raises his eyebrow, as if he has considered Wooyoung an imbecile and he’s just evolved into higher species all of a sudden. Wooyoung doesn't miss that blatantly rude expression. "It’s something..." Chansung mumbles and it takes Wooyoung all his strength to keep his foot away from the mobster's crotch.

"It's weird you noticed her only now. It's been 2 days already. Rusty observation skills you have there." Wooyoung opens the door for him and feels chilly glaciers piercing through the back of his head. He smirks to himself smugly while Chansung cannot see his face. "Let's see if you can deliver the documents before your boss comes back. He’d love to begin all the building process when he’s back." He turns around, putting the pressure on Chansung because everything's in his hands right now. Also, it feels damn great to put pressure on Chansung.

“I’ll deal with it quickly.” Chansung walks past the architect and stops beside him, tilting his head slightly to look at the shorter male. “Oh, and don’t disappoint my boss. He’s very picky.” Chansung smirks and that’s the first time he has showed something more than the regular strict poker face. It sends unpleasant shivers down Wooyoung’s spine.

That’s right; Minjun’s the most important here and Wooyoung shouldn’t get too immersed into something as childish as retaliating Chansung. Just when the latter leaves, it hits Wooyoung – Chansung’s too smart. He didn’t give in into subtle provocations; instead, he created more pressure by mentioning his picky boss. Wooyoung has yet to impress Minjun with the design for his house. And if he’s too picky, it might become very troublesome. Wooyoung growls, making Min and Jia glance at him in question.

 

Indeed, Minjun’s taste appeared to be quite exquisite. Wooyoung’s advantage was thinking out of the box and after two weeks of sleepless nights while drawing and emailing sketches, Minjun has finally approved a one-floor house. 2 bedrooms and bathrooms, kitchen, work room, living room and a small inside pool on the first floor. Panic room, secret escape tunnel and a basement on the ground level. Everything surrounded by a giant fence with motion sensors and cameras. This house was going to be a true modern day fortress. The tricky part of the inside walls Minjun loved the most was invisible doors on every wall connecting different rooms. Escape routes everywhere.

Wooyoung wasn’t used to working so much in such a short time frame, but he beat Chansung, because he hasn’t seen the taller male ever since he handled the file to him. Jia seemed to be adapting well and Min’s whining has decreased drastically (Wooyoung actually liked her whining, but he’d never admit it to her). By the end of the third week, they managed to find a reliable construction subcontractor. Everything seemed to be falling into the right places, but Chansung was still out of sight and it started bothering Wooyoung. Minjun was supposed to be back soon too.

“Earth to Wooyoung.” Suzy waves her hand in front of her brother’s face.

“Oh, sorry.” Wooyoung sips on his coffee. Suzy’s a master at finding empty tables beside windows in coffee shops. Those are the spots usually taken by other people and somehow Suzy’s magic search skills always lead them to an empty table. “I was thinking about work.”

“I can see dark circles under your eyes. Oppa, you shouldn’t work too hard. I don’t want you to collapse.” She frowns and Wooyoung feels like he’s being scolded by his mother. It used to happen back in those reckless days.

“I’m a man, I can’t collapse.” Wooyoung says seriously and Suzy snorts. “Don’t worry about me. Anyway, how’s my sister doing? We haven’t been able to see each other for a while.” Wooyoung feels guilt tugging at his chest.

“Aww, you’re so cute when you feel guilty for ditching your little sister.” Suzy smiles widely and pinches his cheek.

“Yah, Suzy. Stop this. You know I hate it when someone calls me cute.”

“But you are~.” Her grin gets wider and Wooyoung’s glaring doesn’t make any impact on her.

“Seriously. I won’t meet you for a month if you keep on doing this.” Wooyoung crosses his arms on his chest and Suzy pouts leaning back in her chair.

“Fine. Oppa is turning into a sour old man.” Wooyoung rolls eyes at her and she changes the topic after a few moments of silence. “There’s this weird guy at the campus...”

“Really?” Wooyoung leans in as Suzy looks slightly annoyed. He knows that expression very well, because it reminds him of those times when he had to have a talk with a few admirers she used to get back in high school. Suzy’s beauty was perfect bait for unwanted attention.

“He just stares at me, nothing serious.” She looks away and Wooyoung’s worries grow. She’s not an unsuspecting teenager anymore, but still. Suzy’s his little sister.

“Are you sure, because if you want me to-”

She touches his tight fist and smiles. “He’s just a regular guy. If he starts being really creepy, I’ll let my super-oppa know.” A sudden knock on the window startles them and when Wooyoung looks at the intruder the architect sees Chansung outside, wiggling his fingers, telling Wooyoung to come out.

“Talking about creeps... I’ll be right back; I have to talk to my creep outside.”

“I wouldn’t mind him creeping on me...” Wooyoung’s face reflects objection as he turns around and Suzy grins at him. He’ll lecture her later.

Wooyoung notices the clouds are gathering and it might be raining soon, but that is not his main concern right now. Chansung stands calm, dressed in a luxurious black suit and diverts his gaze from the window to him. Wooyoung notices a file in his hands. He made it on time. “You kept your word.” The architect notes.

“I always do.” Chansung puts one hand into the pocket while holding the documents with the other one. “That’s your sister?”

Wooyoung frowns. “Yes.” Chansung lifts his chin slightly at the answer. “Anyway, is everything alright?” He glances at the file.

“Yes. You got all the permissions for the project. Boss will be back tomorrow, so he’ll want to meet you.”

A faint sound of his phone ringing is getting louder and Wooyoung realises he doesn’t have the device with him. He turns around and sees Suzy running towards him with the said phone in her hands. “Oppa, I think it’s a client.”

“Thanks.” Wooyoung grabs the phone and glances at Chansung briefly, the latter nodding slightly. “Hi.” He faces the street as he hears Min’s voice.

“Hi! It’s me, Min. Am I interfering?”

“Sort of. What is it?” He nods at Suzy to go back inside the cafe. She sticks her tongue out but leaves nevertheless.

“Oh. There’s a journalist who wants to get an interview from you. She’d like to meet you today if possible.”

“Really? Is she still there?” Wooyoung cheers up. It’d be his first time giving an interview.

“Yes.”

“Great. I won’t be back to the office today, but I can meet her in about one hour at Yongdusan Park. Is that okay?” He hears Min explaining it to the lady and she confirms. “Good. I’ll be by the flower clock.”

“Okay, bye~.”

Wooyoung turns around and Chansung takes a step forward, giving the file to Wooyoung. “Take care of these well. And make some room in your schedule for Minjun.”

“Sure, thanks.” Wooyoung’s a bit surprised when Chansung actually extends his hand for a handshake and Wooyoung does the same, though it feels like selling his soul to the devil (again; what’s up with that?). He knows he’s just overacting and his imagination tends to blow things out of proportion sometimes, but this gesture is weird. It’s just common sense in business (and between men in general), but this action is like a step into a different territory. Also, it might be his imagination acting again, but Chansung’s strictness seems to have subsided a bit. Did Chansung get an order from Minjun to stop being an ass? Wooyoung shrugs it off mentally.

Before meeting the journalist, Wooyoung makes sure to lecture Suzy about Chansung and his ties to SSM, making sure she stops having weird ideas about the dangerous guy.

 

It’s still cloudy when Wooyoung finds an empty bench, but there hasn’t been a single rain drop yet. He takes a small sketchbook from the bag and looks around before drawing, making sure the journalist isn’t wandering somewhere nearby looking for him pointlessly. He exhales and drowns into relaxation drawing whatever. These few weeks have been so hectic Wooyoung realises it’s only now that he can finally sit back (even for half an hour) and enjoy sketching.

He wonders if it’s possible to work on more projects, because Mrs. Cho and Minjun are on the top of his priority list. He’s almost done with a few older projects, but these two seem so challenging he’s not so sure if he is capable of becoming a crazy workaholic. What for, seriously? Money has never been the most important thing to him (although the more the better, he nods to that thought). Just pure satisfaction of doing what he loves the most. Wooyoung doesn’t think it’d be very smart to overwork himself as he’s just a simple human being and what if creativity crisis happens at some point? Wooyoung decides to slow down for the time being. The beginning is always the most troublesome. There’s no need to hurry when he has such important projects to handle now.

“You’re so immersed in your work.” A low female voice awakens him. Her attire is sharp – pencil shaped skirt and a jacket, but her brown hair is down, which makes her look softer.

“Sorry. I tend to ignore the real world when I’m drawing.” He smiles and puts the sketchbook inside the bag. “So, you’re the journalist?”

“Yes. I’m Kim Yubin.” She nods and Wooyoung nods back.

“I assume I don’t need to introduce myself.”

“Right,” she smiles, but the way she looks at the architect bothers him slightly. He compares her to Chansung who loves using that creepy staring strategy to make people feel flustered and weak. However, Wooyoung feels safe. No one can be better than Chansung at this and Wooyoung’s got a hang of it. “Actually, I’d like to talk about one of your clients...”

Wooyoung stares back at her and it clicks. “You have no interest in my architecture projects.” Her silence makes Wooyoung’s stomach shrivel as his ego has just suffered a huge blow below the waist.

“Listen, to be honest, I write articles about... Shady business.” She licks her dry lips.

“Elaborate.”

“You know. Our famous SSM and all that jazz. When I heard someone has finally agreed to design a house for the notorious Kim Minjun I knew I had to contact that person.” Her blunt answer irritates Wooyoung but it’s better than beating around the bush. She also probably doesn’t have time for vague conversations.

“I can’t talk about it. Sorry.” Wooyoung stands up, but she catches his wrist, making him stop in his track.

“Come on. I can pay you a lot. I’m working on my second book; I’d love to get your input.” She gets on her feet too, still holding onto his wrist.

“Please. For your own good, just stay away from this. I can’t talk about my clients, it’s confidential.”

“Even the things that happen outside the office?” She whispers. “I could tell you many stories about these people. You have no idea where you’re getting yourself into, Mr. Jang.”

Her menacing tone makes Wooyoung frown. “I’m just doing my job. No more, no less.”

She sighs at that. “Fine. I got it. But in case someday you need my help...” Yubin slips her business card into Wooyoung’s jacket pocket. “You can count on me. Or you can just buy my first book the lot hated so much. Just to realise who you’re working for.” She smirks.

“Just hypothetically. If they really hate you, how come you can do whatever you want?” Wooyoung avoids the question about her still being alive on purpose. He feels like he has to be cautious with this woman. Journalist as an enemy is never a good choice.

She chuckles. “Wow, you’re already talking like them. So vague yet everything we need to know is between the lines. Let’s just say they don’t want to attract attention. Dealing with me would be too obvious. They’re smart. We’re not in the wild Wild West where redneck gangs kill each other openly. This is a completely different level.” Yubin releases Wooyoung’s wrist.

“Well, good luck on your second book. I have to go.” Wooyoung’s turns around, but her voice makes him stop once again.

“They’re everywhere. Even now, they might be watching you.”

Wooyoung looks back, a very sincere hate growing inside of him. Yubin just smirks and walks away calmly. She knew. She knew they might have been watched and yet she did that to him. If Minjun’s men are really following him... Wooyoung gulps dead in his track. He doesn’t want to look like a betrayer. He’s not like that. That cunning woman...

He’s startled by the vibration in his pocket and when he fishes both phones out of it, he sees it’s the white one vibrating in his hand. He puts it to his ear slowly.

“Hey...” Minjun’s low voice sends sharp ripples through Wooyoung’s body. What now?


	4. Chapter 4

[ ](http://s66.photobucket.com/user/ielektrinta/media/wk4.jpg.html)

Wooyoung licks his lips, this indescribable feeling in his stomach making him lean back on the tree. "Hey, Minjun." He replies, as calmly as possible. "What's up?"

"I hope I'm not interrupting anything." His voice is serene as he sounds a little bit sleepy.

"Not at all, I was about to go home." Wooyoung feels a little worm of guilt crawling inside his chest, making him wonder if he should tell Minjun about Yubin. It would be better if he told him himself instead of his men, wouldn‘t it? However, Wooyoung's not sure if he's being watched and Yubin might be lying as well; he knows nothing about that cunning woman. He looks around, but all the people look pretty normal to him and there's not many of them in the park at the moment. The sun's almost gone.

"Good." Wooyoung hears him exhale at the other end of the line. "Chansung’s probably told you I'm coming back tomorrow. I'd like to meet you."

"Sure. I wanted to take you to the security systems centre. We could go there from my office?"

"Okay. Is 1PM good for you?"

Wooyoung scans his schedule mentally and remembers there are no important appointments for tomorrow. Also, what makes him relax a bit is how tired Minjun sounds, no sign of annoyance. Which can mean Wooyoung's ass is safe for today at least. "Yes, I'll be waiting then. And Minjun?"

"Yeah?"

"Get some sleep. You sound tired." Minjun chuckles softly. Wooyoung thinks maybe he's crossed the line here, but somehow it feels like he can allow this when he's talking to this particular client. He's not an ordinary client after all.

"Will you tell me to brush my teeth as well?" Minjun replies and Wooyoung can imagine him smiling as his voice sounds like he's doing that.

"I could, but I don't want to sound like your mother."

"I think it's a bit too late." Minjun's laugh makes Wooyoung grin unconsciously. "Thanks though. Taecyeon's the only one who loves to cosplay as a mother and with him... You know, things sometimes might get out of hand. You sound more like an old fashioned strict mother. Less creepy than Taecyeon, which is good." Wooyoung hears the latter screaming _'Minjun-sama, how dare you!'_ and that image of a scary gang, which Yubin made him imagine, dissolves into thin air. Are these people really as bad as Yubin and the rest of the media portray them? Media doesn't hold all the knowledge, right? "Anyway, I'll see you tomorrow. Brush your teeth." Minjun teases him.

"I will. Till tomorrow then. Bye."

Wooyoung sighs and reclines his head back, staring at the sky polluted with city lights. He's calm now. That felt like talking to a friend. However, his curiosity increases tenfold and minutes later, Wooyoung finds himself in a book shop, holding Yubin's book in his hands.

 

He wakes up grumbling, slightly irritated by killer sun rays and Wooyoung curses himself for being so forgetful when it comes to curtains. He was so immersed in that book that he fell asleep without taking care of protection from daylight. It's not like he's a vampire, but sun sometimes can be a pain in the ass. Especially when you want to sleep more and you don't have to be in the office very early. He rolls around in the bed and something sharp pokes his ribs, making him wince and grab the thing. "Oh..." Wooyoung stares at Yubin's book.

To him, her book looked slightly vague but full of very well interpreted speculations. Sure, there were some things that seemed to sound pretty legitimate, but how reliable were they? SSM was described as a very secretive organisation. What differentiates them from stereotypical old fashioned gangs is how they handle things. They don't kill anyone unless there's a real threat and if they have to kill someone, it always looks very natural, according to Yubin.

However, they have other means when dealing with enemies or someone who's interfering with their business. Usually, it's something psychological (for instance – mental pressure) and Wooyoung can't help but remember Chansung. That man looks like he can read minds and use it against people – just give him an order to do so. Mental pressure, financial restrictions and dirty games, connections with various influential people (even infiltration of SSM people into politics) – that's how SSM survives and expands their authority. This is nothing like brutal old gangs – just like Yubin said, it's a completely different level and it involves intelligent people, who can move around in shadows and pull the right strings when they need to. And money is the key to everything.

The book didn't have much personal information on Minjun. The only thing that caught Wooyoung's interest was that the mobster's uncle Park Jinyoung was supposedly the leader but she had no firm basis to confirm that. Yubin's theories included some allegations that Minjun might be at the top of the organisation too (with high chances to inherit everything), but she wasn't sure as his uncle had children of his own, whose identities were a secret to the journalist and the society. SSM was the definition of mystery. _No wonder she was so desperate to get some information from me_ , Wooyoung thinks as he arrives at the office.

"How did the interview go?" Min asks and Jia looks at him curiously too.

"Oh, that..." Wooyoung flops on the sofa. "Guess what. She was interested in SSM and Minjun. Not my architecture projects."

"No way." Min gasps.

"Yeah."

"I'm sorry. I should've asked her..." Min looks apologetic, making Wooyoung smile softly.

"I doubt it she would've told you her true intentions. No worries." He stands up and makes his way to his office. "Any new notifications for me?" He looks back, unlocking the door.

"Mrs. Cho would like to have a supper with you. Alone." Jia says, a smile tugging at the corner of her lips.

"A Supper? Are you kidding me?" Wooyoung whines.

"Yes. You should see your face." Both girls snicker in unison and Wooyoung regrets telling them about the boring lunch he had with Mrs. Cho and her husband.

"Yah, I will fire you. Both." Wooyoung scoffs and disappears into his sunny office, leaving the two laughing girls alone.

He sits down into the comfortable chair and closes his eyes sighing. They don't know about his sexual orientation. Wooyoung made sure to keep that a secret, because no matter how you look at it, this society isn't very acceptable towards gay people. He realises that with Min, perhaps Jia too, it might be different, but he has burnt so much Wooyoung doesn't want to take a risk. Maybe someday he will tell them. Perhaps he won't need to do that as the understanding might come along the way. He hasn't told Fei as well, but Wooyoung's pretty sure she knows as they've been friends for a few years now. She's rather perceptive and there have been some moments during their friendship that should’ve made her to make the right conclusion.

He spends the rest of the time (till Minjun's arrival) perfecting the interior for his house and making calls to the contractor, telling him the actual construction work will begin tomorrow as all the documents are in. Later, Min brings him a small bucket of KFC chicken that Wooyoung is so hooked on and he devours it immediately.

It's five minutes to 1PM, when his door opens and Jia brings Minjun inside. Wooyoung gets up on his feet and greets him with a firm handshake. "Hey, how was the trip?"

"Boring. They were playing the Godfather on the plane." Wooyoung snorts and Minjun grins at him. "You told me to sleep well, but you have dark circles under your eyes. You're not a very good role model."

Wooyoung suddenly remembers Yubin's book and he feels conflicted once again. Does Minjun know? Should he tell him? Wooyoung bites on his lip as he digs deeper into his pockets. "You're right, I’m not a very good role model. Anyway," Wooyoung grabs some papers and shows them to Minjun. "I was working on the interior just now. How do you like it?"

Minjun inspects the design carefully and nods. "Scandinavian minimalism, it looks cool," he glances at Wooyoung. "I believe the furniture should bring in some colours and mood, right?"

"Yeah, I'll email you some suggestions later. Also, I was thinking about a fireplace hanging from the ceiling, a neat metal construction."

Minjun raises his eyebrows. "I like where you're going."

"Thanks, but for now, we should focus on all the security system installations as that's your main goal of the entire fortress. We've got plenty of construction workers, so the fence and the substructure should be raised fast. And for your security, I got some futuristic ideas." Wooyoung grins.

"Now you got me excited." Minjun puts the papers away. "Shall we go then?"

"Sure, just let me grab the helmet." A hand lands on his shoulder to stop him and Minjun smiles, something intriguing about that smile.

"No need for that. I have something that should stop your claustrophobic-self from freaking out."

When they leave the office, Wooyoung's mouth shapes a perfect ‘o’ as Minjun shows him an impressive vehicle. Cherry red, convertible vintage Fiat, manufactured around 40 years ago. "Wicked," he says. "Is that Fiat 124 Spider? Where did you get it?"

"Yeah. It's a birthday present from my uncle." Minjun explains, walking to the car. Wooyoung can only suspect what his other presents look like. This one's pretty amazing. "Hop in." Minjun encourages him, taking his place in the driver's seat.

Wooyoung touches the dark smooth leather as he takes the front seat. If only he'd have the guts to get a car license, he'd get a classy car likes this one. Maybe someday his phobia won't be as strong. "Where’s Taecyeon and Chansung?" He asks as he notices they're nowhere in sight.

Minjun starts the engine. "I have other people hanging around me." He leans in, a little smirk decorating his face. "They're invisible."

"...Alright." Wooyoung casts away his random thoughts about ghosts.

"It's not like I'll be shot in a broad daylight." Minjun pulls away and the car pushes backwards, as he checks whether there are any cars in the way. "Right?" He glances at Wooyoung and makes him gulp with that one fierce look. "Damn, you're easy to scare." Minjun chuckles looking carefree all of a sudden and accelerates the speed.

"You can't blame me. You're the first client, who..." Wooyoung shuts up, looking away. He hates being perplexed. And that feeling is doubled when Minjun's hand lands briefly on his knee, making the architect look at his grinning client.

"I get it." Minjun concentrates on the road as he turns on the radio and the rest of their trip is accompanied by jazz music. Wooyoung taps his fingers on his knee.

 

Minjun's fascinated by all these new technologies at the system security centre, bringing joy and satisfaction to Wooyoung's ego. After two hours they finally choose the lock for his house – an iris authentication system. Minjun makes a quick reference to Sylvester Stallone in "Demolition Man", but the centre assistant assures him the door won't unlock if someone rips his eyeball out and tries to use it to enter the building. Eye-lock technology recognises dead tissues. Wooyoung's totally grossed out by the idea. However, Minjun chooses a good old intercom with a camera for the front gate (the gate itself opens using a remote control device). They add a few more cameras for outside surveillance. When they're done with the documents and the iris scanning for the gadget, Wooyoung feels accomplished.

They step outside, both content with everything. "Wanna go grab some coffee?" Minjun inquires, putting a cigarette in his mouth.

"Sure." He waits for Minjun to light up his cigarette and when he's done, they walk towards a nearby coffee shop.

"I thought the iris authentication system was just fiction." Minjun exhales the smoke. "That was a nice surprise."

"Really?" Wooyoung feels smug. "I wonder what else you think is fiction."

"Hmm..." Minjun hums, inhaling the smoke. "Invisibility cloak?" He chuckles.

"Don't tell me you're a Potterhead." Wooyoung stares at him, walking without looking where he's going.

"I'm not. But Taecyeon's head is full of information he feels he must share with me." Wooyoung laughs at the idea of Taecyeon reading Harry Potter books. "I can tell you all about Slytherin. Draco is such a conflicted character. I feel sorry for him." Minjun looks back at Wooyoung and seconds later they both erupt into laughter. He'd have never thought a day would come when he'd be laughing with a mobster, talking about Harry Potter. Life is weird.

Wooyoung's brought back to the real world when he crashes into someone and there's a handbag beside his feet. “I’m sorry!” He lifts it quickly and is about to give it back, when he sees the person in front of him. Wooyoung's entire body goes numb, all the happiness disappearing painfully.

She has more wrinkles, which makes her look more tired. Her summer dress is white, a pattern of blue flowers decorates her chest area, and her dark hair is cut short, barely reaching her chin. "Mum..." Wooyoung's voice is quiet, as if he's seeing a fragile mirage and doesn't want to disturb it.

His mother gently takes the handbag away from his frozen hands and looks down, her voice as quiet as his. "I have no son." And she turns around, shattering Wooyoung's world once again. That wound in his chest reopens roughly, tearing all the healed spots apart. Wooyoung forgets that there's Minjun standing beside him, staring compassionately at his broken profile. Wooyoung just looks at his mother’s back as she turns around the corner and disappears completely from his eyesight and his heart. It's so empty.

Minjun doesn't ask if Wooyoung's alright, because he's not. He just squeezes the architect's shoulder and awakens him from the stupor. "I'm sorry, could you take me back to the office, please?"

"Sure." Minjun says and they walk to his vehicle in silence.

 

Wooyoung's lost in his thoughts as chilly breeze ruffles his hair. Minjun's car feels like a cradle, lulling him effortlessly. When was the last time he has seen her, eye to eye? 10 years ago, when all the hell broke loose. Ever since then, he hasn't seen his parents. Wooyoung realises time doesn't heal wounds; it just makes you forget and ignore it, until you start feeling comfortable enough about the thing that hurt you. He's pretty sure that even after 20 years meeting his parents would still feel the same. Now there's just a void that can't be filled. Maybe it can be filled, but Wooyoung doesn't know how. People suffer from far more serious problems and yet they manage to live on, coming to terms with whatever has happened to them. Wooyoung wants to know the secret. How's that possible? If it hurts so much?

He gazes at the scenery, more greenery and fewer buildings enter his sight and the realisation makes him blink his eyes. This is the wrong way. "Wait, the office is in a different direction."

"I know." Minjun states calmly and Wooyoung doesn't know what to think.

"Where are you taking me?" He looks around, the area seems pretty rural.

"You'll see." Wooyoung doesn't ask anymore. He doesn't care. Whatever it is, let it be.

After more time of self-pity and uncertainty, the cars pulls over into a sandy parking lot and Wooyoung notices a very high crane. He doesn't suspect anything bad, until they use the elevator to reach the top. "Is this a place... for bungee jumping?" He asks carefully as they leave the elevator and strong wind blows Wooyoung into his face. Minjun smiles at him briefly and walks forward, another guy grabbing Minjun's hand and pulling him close into a bro-hug, patting his shoulder.

"What's up, Mikey?" He asks, ignoring Wooyoung's terrified face as he holds tight onto the handrail.

"Nothing much, how about you, bro?"

"Same old. Many people around here today?" He pulls away from the Mikey guy.

"Nah, rather quiet today. Who's your guy?"

"That's my architect, Wooyoung." Minjun pats Wooyoung's shoulder.

"Did you fail to impress Minjun? That's why he brought you here?" Mikey jokes and Wooyoung's face as lifeless as ever.

"I guess I failed him."

"Anyway, Mikey, can you prepare the jumping gear for him?" Minjun asks, as if he has Wooyoung's consent already.

"Wait wait. I'm not going to kill myself here." Wooyoung backs away, but Minjun catches his wrist, pulling him closer. He waits until Mikey's gone.

"Wooyoung, you need this." The architect looks away and the height looks ridiculous at this point. The dark river down below doesn't look too comforting as well.

"Why are you bullying me into this?"

"Look at me," Minjun commands and Wooyoung sighs heavily before looking at the mobster. "I won't ask you what happened between you and your mother. But sometimes, no matter how hard it is, you need to do one important thing."

"Which is..?" Wooyoung mumbles.

"Let it go." Minjun sounds convincing and Wooyoung cannot not agree with that statement. "Just let it go..." He repeats and Wooyoung's eyes dart to the mobsters arm.

"What... What does it feel like? Jumping..."

"Like a suicide, except you live." Wooyoung snorts at the comparison and looks up to see Minjun's encouraging smile.

"Fine. I'll do it."

"That's my boy." Minjun pulls him into a quick hug and Wooyoung feels mushy all of a sudden. Because he can't remember when was the last time someone gave him such an encouraging hug and because he might not live after that jump. Either way, Wooyoung feels the determination grow inside him, and when Minjun lets go of him, Wooyoung doesn't look back and heads over to Mikey, to get ready for the final leap. "I'll wait for you on the ground." He hears Minjun's voice and lifts his right hand to wave without looking back.

There are thousands of thoughts flooding his mind as he stands on the edge all geared up. Wooyoung knows he needs to suck it up and gain strength from somewhere. This jump might be the key, he contemplates. Wind plays with the hem of his shirt, lifting it lightly and Wooyoung looks at the boat, waiting for him in the river. He also sees Minjun's little figure on the sandy shore. Wooyoung smiles, shaking his head lightly. He must have gone insane. He could walk away right now. What would happen if he did?

He'd be stuck, Wooyoung realises. He needs to let go. And he does.

Wooyoung's screaming like he has never screamed before, the feeling of his insides hanging somewhere in the air making him scream even more as it's the only way to survive this fall. He feels tears gathering in the corners of his eyes and when the rope stretches and pulls him up again, Wooyoung's a laughing and crying mess. He's glad no one can actually see it. This release feels damn good and Wooyoung keeps it to himself. "Fuuuuck!" He yells, the rope slowing down throwing his body up and down bit by bit.

He wipes the tears away quickly as the rope is being lowered for the man in the boat to reach Wooyoung and help him out of the bungee jumping gear. He's breathing deeply when they reach the shore. Wooyoung's legs are still wobbly and Minjun helps him out of the boat, holding onto the architect's arms tightly. "Can we sit down for a bit?" He asks breathless and they do so, not minding the sand dirtying their jeans.

"How was it?" Minjun asks all excited.

"Epic." Wooyoung's answer is short, but accurate. He can feel his heartbeat steadying, while listening to the water stream. Minjun gets a cigarette and smokes beside Wooyoung, staring at nothing in particular.

"Want some poison?" He offers the cigarette to Wooyoung and the latter doesn't refuse. It surprises Minjun when the architect doesn't cough. On the contrary, Wooyoung looks rather comfortable as he returns the cigarette to Minjun. "I thought you'd cough at least once."

"Nah, I used to smoke when... A long time ago." Wooyoung remembers those days he had to get used to living away from the family. Strangely, the thought doesn't bother him that much. It's like he has screamed most of the pain out during the fall. But then he remembers something else and he feels like it's the right time to say this. "Yesterday... A journalist contacted me. Kim Yubin. She was desperate to get some information about you."

Minjun exhales and crushes the cigarette beneath his shoe. "And what did you do about it?" Minjun doesn't look very surprised.

"I told her to mind her own business. But I wanna ask you something."

"What?"

"Am I being watched by your men?"

"Yes." Minjun answers nonchalantly.

"So you knew she talked to me?"

"I was informed today." Sounds of nature engulf them, but it doesn't ease the tension Wooyoung's feeling. "I wanted to see what you were going to do about that." Minjun explains calmly. "Also, I wouldn't say you're being watched in a sense to control you or your actions. It's for your own safety."

"That doesn't make sense." Woyoung blurts out and Minjun looks at him.

"Wooyoung. I told you I wouldn't involve you into my business, but there might be people, who might want to do that. For that reason, you need SSM protection." Wooyoung gets a gooseflesh – that’s the first time Minjun talks about SSM so openly. It’s official. He’s under Minjun’s wing.

“But I’m useless. I don’t get it.” Wooyoung really doesn’t understand how he could be of any value to Minjun’s enemies.

“Don’t underestimate yourself.” Minjun stands up. “There’s a person keeping an eye on you. Nothing more. No one’s going to invade your privacy. No spying.” He extends his hand to help Wooyoung up.

Although Wooyoung’s not very pleased with being watched, if it’s only watching for the sake of his safety and nothing more, he can deal with it. It’s like having an invisible bodyguard. Sort of. He grabs Minjun’s hand and stands up. “Fine.”

“Great. I’ll take you to the office now. For real.” Minjun smirks and they make their way towards the car.

Wooyoung feels exhausted in many ways when Minjun drops him at the office, so he grabs his stuff and goes home immediately. He tries to guess who might be watching over him, but everyone looks so ordinary Wooyoung comes to a conclusion mobsters probably do not look that different from other people. You can never know what kind of person is hiding behind a simple exterior.

He locks the door and Mango greets him. Wooyoung scoops his fluffy cat into his arms and lies on the sofa. This day had too much in store for him. He closes his eyes and doesn’t notice how fast he falls asleep. Minjun's hug is the last thing he manages to think of before dozing off.


	5. Chapter 5

The office is empty as Wooyoung stretches his limbs, getting up from his seat. It’s pretty late for this place to be open and he decides it’s time to go home. He can’t remember why he’s working overtime, but oddly enough it doesn't matter.

He passes by Min’s desk and grabs his backpack, slinging it over his right shoulder. Wooyoung turns the lights off and stands still for some time, his eyes adjusting to the dim reception room. Stripes of soft lights colour the office through blinds and Wooyoung walks over to the door, but when he touches the doorknob, he’s forced to jump back as someone else opens it and closes forcefully. The man grabs and pushes Wooyoung’s body to the wall. He presses his palm to the architect’s mouth, silencing him immediately.

Wooyoung wants to fight back, but a familiar voice stops him on time. “Shh, it’s me.” He whispers and when primary shock fades away Wooyoung realises it’s Minjun.

The architect's body reacts when Minjun leans closer as his hand traces down the younger man’s chin and neck. The mobster’s body heat seems to engulf him and Wooyoung gulps, because Minjun’s thigh brushes lightly against his crotch. “What are you doing..?” Wooyoung inquires quietly, trying to control himself. It’s been so long since he’s been so intimate with someone and Minjun’s making it tough. Why is he here to begin with? The architect looks away, the lack of proper distance making him feel flustered as Minjun just keeps staring at him without any explanation.

"No one can see us, no one can hear us..." Minjun's breath ghosts over Wooyoung's lips. It takes a moment before something within Wooyoung snaps as he kisses Minjun hastily, pulling the mobsters hips closer to his. He grinds, losing himself in that moment of bliss, and when Minjun's hand cups him down below, Wooyoung's eyes shoot open.

He stares at the dark ceiling, light breeze gushing in through an open window as Wooyoung realises he's in his bed and it's still night-time. However, he cannot ignore that tension in his crotch area and he curses. Another wet dream about Minjun in a few weeks period ever since the bungee jumping had happened. His hand slides down his stomach and sweaty fingers touch his painful erection. Wooyoung bites his lower lip as he starts moving his hand up and down, trying to release that bittersweet ache. As he is doing so, Wooyoung imagines him.

It doesn't take long to finish and when he grabs a tissue, Wooyoung feels guilty. Not only this is his client – Minjun's someone who should be clearly off limits and yet, Wooyoung can't lie to himself. Despite the fact, that he tries his best to ignore whatever attraction he might feel towards the mobster, it seems like he's losing that inner fight. As much as he can be rational and professional during the day, his subconsciousness always triples everything during the night. Wooyoung knows he can't run away from himself, but the least he can do is ignore whatever he might feel towards Minjun. This isn't right and it has to stop. Nothing positive can come out of this as they still have a long way to go working on the same project.

Whenever they meet, Minjun's always friendly; he's always very straightforward and direct body contact is one of his most vivid character traits. It feels like Minjun recharges himself by touching people around him and Wooyoung's not excluded from this. Especially if Taecyeon and Chansung are not around when they meet at the office or at the site to check on the building progress. Wooyoung feels like a complete hypocrite, because he loves that Minjun’s touchy-feely personality and yet he hates how Minjun's actions bring out that painful longing. He's torn apart between enjoying it and feeling guilty.

Wooyoung rolls on his side and stares through the window, seeing nothing but dark sky. This has to stop. He needs a better self-control before this selfishness gets out of hand. An uncomfortable prickling appears in his chest and Wooyoung closes his eyes. He cannot mix work with personal issues. Not with Minjun.

 

Wooyoung's back from an architect seminar, when he remembers Minjun's supposed to drop by the office to sign some documents. He finds the office still open even though it's pretty late and as he enters, Fei greets him as she's about to leave the place. "Hey, what are you doing here?" She asks.

"I have one order sheet for Minjun to sign, because I must hand it in tomorrow morning if I want to get the thing this month. And I kind of almost forgot about it." Wooyoung sees the necessary file on Min's desk and grabs it.

"And I thought your memory was perfect." She grins as she passes by him.

Wooyoung rolls his eyes. "Listen, I can't be perfect in all aspects. I must have at least one flaw." Fei snorts at him. "Anyway, what are you up to? It's almost 8PM."

"I started working on another project."

"Workaholic."

"You'll become one soon too." She has an omniscient smile on her face and Wooyoung has to admit it silently – he’s itching to get another interesting project. "You love the job." She adds.

Wooyoung smiles back as Fei opens the door. "Yeah, have a good night."

"Just don't forget to lock the door. And turn the lights off." She teases.

"Ah, come on..." He whines and Fei leaves him all alone. Wooyoung slumps on the sofa, sighing deeply as he feels tired. "I'm getting old," he mumbles, thinking about the days he could pull an all-nighter and still keep on staying pretty energetic the next morning. He closes his eyes for what it seems just a few seconds, but that dream from before slowly creeps in on his mind and he's more than happy to be awakened when the office door thuds heavily and drags him out of the hazy dream. He turns his head to see Minjun with Taecyeon looking at him amused and Wooyoung realises he must look like a chipmunk woken from his winter sleep. He jumps on his feet quickly. "Sorry, I must have dozed off..."

"Taecyeon was about to take a picture of your mouth hanging open." Minjun snickers.

"Consider yourself lucky." The giant adds, his toothy grin enough of a proof everything could've gotten worse.

"No, consider _yourself_ lucky." Wooyoung leans in and stares into Taecyeon's eyes with his default poker face on.

"Minjun-sama, we’ve got a badass over here." He grins and taps Wooyoung's shoulder. "You should recruit him."

Minjun glances at Taecyeon, then back to Wooyoung. "So you could harass him every day?"

"Why not?" Taecyeon pouts.

"Taecyeon, just get yourself a pet. My architect is off limits."

"Thanks." Wooyoung raises his eyebrow, ignoring that something little and pleasant blossoming inside his chest. Whereas Taecyeon might act silly, Wooyoung's not so sure of his own response towards constant teasing. He might bite Taecyeon if the latter crosses the line and as Minjun suggested – a pet might be better for that. It's like Minjun knows Wooyoung's self-esteem to be rather high. Also, working for SSM? Even as a joke, it sounds too challenging. Wooyoung knows nothing what it is like to belong to a mob. However, he's sure it's a lot of responsibility. "Here, sign this." He gives the document to Minjun.

Minjun scans through the paper sheets quickly and signs. "So, the substructure and the fence will be finished soon?"

"In a week or two. Yeah."

"That's amazing," Taecyeon chimes in.

"Well, it's been a month already since the beginning. Also, as we have so many builders everything goes pretty smooth." Wooyoung shrugs. "It'll take around two months to finish the rest of the house, including the interior and such. I think this is going to be the fastest project for me. Unless someone else appears with unlimited resources." He grins at Minjun.

"I hope I'll be the only one." The mobster smirks back.

Wooyoung's phone rings unexpectedly and as he grabs it, he excuses himself. It's Suzy calling. "Hey, sis." He answers, but she doesn't reply. Wooyoung frowns, hearing rustling and uneven breathing. "Suzy?" His worries double as she doesn't answer. "Suzy? Can you hear me?"

"...he's following me." She whispers, her voice quivering and Wooyoung can feel how scared she is. His heartbeat accelerates.

"Where are you? I'll get you out of there; just tell me where you are." Silence. "Suzy?"

"...I'm hiding. Behind that abandoned shop near my university." He can barely hear her voice and he forgets how to breathe when she hangs up on him.

"Suzy?! Fuck!" Wooyoung's hands are shaking as he stares at his phone screen and Minjun's voice makes him remember he's not alone.

"Tell me where she is. My men will get there first." Minjun gets a hold of his phone.

Wooyoung doesn't think twice when he replies. All that matters is Suzy's safety and this city is full of SSM people, organised better than the police. At least that’s what he’s hoping for. "Kyungsung university, she's hiding somewhere behind an abandoned shop near it." Wooyoung looks at Minjun as he calls someone and gives orders, and the architect prays they wouldn't be too late. Hell knows what that creep wants to do to her. Seconds later, both of them are in Minjun's car as he speeds to reach the place faster.

 

Wooyoung's head full of terrible thoughts by the time Minjun's receives a call and they finally arrive at their destination. A few cars are parked sporadically and Wooyoung sees Minjun's men idling around. He notices Chansung coming towards them and when they get out of the car, the mobster looks at Wooyoung who's nearly lost his mind. "She's safe. She's in that van, waiting for you." Chansung nods towards the van and Wooyoung flies to it immediately.

Suzy's shoulders are covered with Chansung's jacket (Wooyoung decides quickly, as his formal get up misses a jacket to make the general look complete), but what catches Wooyoung's attention first is her dirty shorts and ripped shirt. "No..." He voices out and Suzy finally notices him. Her eyes are puffy from crying and when Wooyoung embraces his sister, she starts sobbing again. "Please, tell me he didn't do anything to you... Please..." Wooyoung's hug is tight, almost suffocating, but Suzy doesn't say anything against it. This makes her feel safe.

"He tried..." She sobs. "At first I thought he was just following with no ill intentions... But he started chasing after me when I tried to run away from him. He found me hiding. I tried to run again, he caught me and he tried..." Suzy takes a break as fresh memories flood her mind. "I managed to scratch his face and got up, but he caught me again... Wooyoung, I really thought he was going to... But then all these men came in... And everything was over. I was so scared. I thought..."

"Shh... You're safe now." Wooyoung caresses her hair, feeling his shirt getting soaked with her tears. They spend some time like this in silence as Wooyoung tries his best to comfort her in his warm embrace.

"Wooyoung, could you come here for a moment?" Minjun's voice calls him out.

"I'll be back, stay here, okay?" He looks at Suzy’s doleful face.

"Okay." She answers and Wooyoung kisses her forehead, leaving his sister in the dark van.

They walk behind the car and Wooyoung watches Minjun as he smokes a cigarette. Taecyeon’s standing a bit further, probably looking out for random people who might interrupt things. "We have him. Behind that shop." Minjun says and rage starts boiling in Wooyoung’s veins. "You're free to do whatever you want with him." Minjun gazes into Wooyoung's eyes, looking for doubt, but he finds none and Wooyoung just raises his chin higher.

"Take me to him." He says and squeezes his shaking fist.

Minjun leads him and when they walk behind the corner, Wooyoung sees four men securing the scumbag as he kneels looking rather alerted. The offender raises his head and Wooyoung sees scratch marks on his face. Suzy's scratch marks. Something switches on within Wooyoung, all this rage consuming his mind and when he lunges forward; he can see surprise on the man's face. Wooyoung punches his face, following with a few kicks to the offender's stomach and he loses control over his actions as all he feels is a desperate need to erase this man from this planet. Not only because of Suzy. It's like that man has become a punching bag for everything bad Wooyoung has experienced in his life. There hasn't been a time when Wooyoung could really release all his rage and now that he has the chance, this rage takes complete control over his soul and body. Every punch brings this sick satisfaction to Wooyoung.

Only a pair of arms circling around him from behind makes Wooyoung get back from this raging daze and he's trapped in a tight embrace, huffing like a wild animal. "Wooyoung, trust me, you don't want to kill him." Minjun speaks, his voice so serene it makes Wooyoung realise he's the only one going completely crazy here. He looks at the man rolling on the ground in pain and he finds it hard to believe it was him who has injured the offender so much. Wooyoung feels terrified, he had no idea a person like this would be hiding inside him. A person who could beat the shit out of someone with no mercy and feel satisfied about it.

He gulps and when he looks down, he sees how Minjun's hands release him slowly. When they disappear from his sight, Wooyoung sees his own hands tainted with blood. "Get him out of here and make sure he leaves this city permanently." Minjun commands and his men leave them alone, dragging the offender away with them. Minjun walks around him and Wooyoung's eyes are still locked on his own bloody knuckles. "You can't show up to your sister looking like this." Minjun says as he takes a handkerchief out of his pocket and carefully cleans Wooyoung’s hands for him.

"I could've killed him." Wooyoung says silently, staring at Minjun's hands cleaning his. "I wouldn't even have noticed that."

"I know." Minjun says and Wooyoung looks up at him, the latter's sympathetic face revealing he really knows. Has it ever happened to him too? "That's why I stopped you. When someone's in a state of wild rage, it never ends well. Never. I'm sure you couldn't live with that. Even if this was someone who wanted to rape your sister. It'd feel good for about a second, but when the realisation sinks in... It would haunt you forever. Taking a human life away doesn't come cheap." Minjun pulls his hands away from Wooyoung's. "I'll drive you both home. Don't worry about anything. Taecyeon will make sure the asshole never comes back to Busan." Minjun gets something from his pocket and gives it to Wooyoung. It's a small pill. "Nothing illegal, just a regular sleeping pill for you sister as I'm sure she needs it right now."

Wooyoung catches Minjun's wrist as he's about to walk away and the latter looks at him questioningly. "Thank you." Wooyoung says and Minjun nods, smiling faintly.

"Come on, I'll take you home."

 

The ride home is slow and calm as Wooyoung cradles his sleeping sister in his arms on the front seat of Minjun's vintage Fiat since it's designed only for two people originally. The seat is wide enough for him and his slim sibling though. The architect glances at his bruised knuckles – it takes so little to destroy a life. If Minjun hadn't stopped him, it might've ended very ugly. Suzy wouldn't be happy at all. Not to mention his parents who had had enough of shame having a homosexual son to begin with. A murderer homosexual would be immensely obscene. Wooyoung sighs. Problems never end, do they? Suzy probably won't mention anything about this to their parents.

Minjun opens the door for Wooyoung and he helps to lift Suzy up until her brother gets out of the car and scoops her in his arms. "Could you grab our bags?"

"Sure." Minjun grabs them and opens all the doors until they reach Wooyoung's apartment. "Where's your key?"

"In my pocket." Wooyoung nods to his right and Minjun has no choice but to slip his hand in to fish out the keys. Wooyoung's suddenly aware of that hand in his pocket and it's tough to concentrate, but holding Suzy in his arms occupies him enough to ignore what’s happening down below. It doesn't take long and Minjun unlocks the door letting them in. "Can you wait here? I'll bring her to the guest room."

"Take your time." Minjun walks to the window and Wooyoung leaves him.

Suzy doesn't look scared or terrified; her face is relaxed as Wooyoung lowers her into the bed. He takes off her shoes and covers her fragile body with a warm blanket, hoping she won't have nightmares, but that's probably impossible. "I'm sorry." He speaks softly and kisses her forehead, gently caressing her hair. "I'm a shit of a brother. But there won't be a next time like this. I promise. Sleep well." Wooyoung smiles sadly as Mango jumps on the bed and snuggles next to Suzy's face as if knowing she needs it. "Take care of her, Mango." He turns the light off and leaves the room.

"This must be Chansung's." Wooyoung says as he gives the jacket to Minjun, the latter's still standing by the window.

"Thanks, I'll give it back to him. How is she?"

"Sleeping. Thanks to you. I really don't know how to thank you enough. The thought of..." It's painful even to think about it and Wooyoung cannot continue talking.

"You know, I really despise rapists. Or anyone who abuses weak people just for their own selfish and perverted needs. People who think they are far superior to others. People who don't know where they come from. I hate lowlifes like that." Wooyoung notices how Minjun squeezes the jacket in his hand tighter. "So you don't have to thank me for that."

"Minjun..." Wooyoung gathers his courage. It seems like a proper time to ask this. And he's been itching to do that for a very long time. "Can I ask you something?"

"Ask," he smiles.

"How did you get into prison?"

Minjun exhales and Wooyoung's not so sure anymore if it’s been a wise decision to ask something personal. "A bit curious, aren’t you?" He looks away from Wooyoung and gazes through the window. "There's no big secret, except the police and the media made it sound too biased. I had information there was an undercover cop spying on my club. I kept on ignoring him, but I had a bit too much liquor one evening... Long story short – he provoked me and I gave in. Alcohol really makes you act very irresponsibly. Chansung stopped me right on time though. The cop's nose was broken, a few ribs too. Nothing fatal, but it was a good chance to put me behind the bars. So they did. The end." He looks back at Wooyoung's puzzled face. "The power of media. Didn't expect that, did you?"

"That really doesn't sound as bad as all these articles on your case."

"And guess who wrote most of them."

A few moments are enough for Wooyoung to catch the drift. "Yubin."

Minjun clicks his tongue and shoots at Wooyoung with his finger. "Bingo."

"She's really onto you."

"My number one fan. Yeah." He grins. "I have to go now. Nice loft, by the way."

"Thanks." Wooyoung follows Minjun to the door and opens it for him. "Your house will look even better. I promise."

Minjun passes by him and stops, squeezing his shoulder. "Of course, my architect is the best." He pulls away. "Take care. I'll see you soon. Oh," He turns his head to Wooyoung, leaning in rather close even for a friend, “It seems like your claustrophobia affects you only when you want it to. You seemed pretty cool holding your sister in that van. I guess you should work more on your condition. Or perhaps you were just too overwhelmed with emotions.” He grins and waves his hand once. “Good night.”

The architect’s brain digests everything at a pace of a snail and only when Minjun’s out of his sight, does he mumble, "Good night." Wooyoung closes the door and slides down to the floor. It took him this close to refrain himself from doing what he did in that dream. He was so itching to kiss his client and only the thought of Suzy sleeping in another room stopped him from doing so. Also, Minjun pointed out a rather interesting thing. Wooyoung didn’t even think about his condition when he embraced Suzy in that van. Weird.

 

Minjun leaves the building and leans back onto his car, lighting a cigarette. That habit annoys him, but it’s too addictive to stop. There’s something about smoking that helps him concentrate more. “Perhaps I shouldn’t tell you this...” Chansung leans back onto the car as well, retrieving the jacket from Minjun’s hand and putting it on swiftly.

“You can tell me whatever you want, Chansung-ah. And you will, no matter what.” The corners of Minjun’s lips rise up.

“Others won’t notice it. You’ve been always exceptionally good at hiding things. And if anything, Taecyeon and I are always there to cover up for you. But I’ve noticed it.”

“What exactly?”

“You care about him.” Chansung looks at his boss’s calm profile. He always looks so calm, but Chansung knows there’s a lot beneath that mask.

“Because I helped with his sister? Isn’t it the usual thing I do for friends?” He exhales smoke.

“That’s how it might look like for everyone else. You’re playing so well when it comes to being friendly with people. I envy you.” Minjun chuckles at Chansung.

“Sometimes I think it’s better to have your ability to intimidate people so they stay away with all their questions.”

“Yeah, but if I started caring about someone it’d be obvious, wouldn’t it?”

“You’re right. I noticed it.” Minjun blinks at him. “So, the bottom line of your opinion is?”

“Be careful. Though you’ve always been that way. And I’m still learning from you.”

“Yeah, feisty Chansung looks rather tame compared to the early days.” Minjun punches him in the shoulder gently but soon he’s all composed, staring somewhere far away. “I don’t know if I should care about him. But I do. And I’ll be careful, don’t you worry about that. I know my position. Uncle knows too. After all, he practically raised me up. I’m so grateful.” He crushes the cigarette. “Do you need a lift?”

“No, thanks.” Chansung looks up and there’s light coming from Wooyoung’s windows. “Maybe we should watch her too?”

“You can do that on your free time.” Minjun smirks as he sits behind the wheel. “After all, you’re her saviour.”


	6. Chapter 6

[ ](http://s66.photobucket.com/user/ielektrinta/media/wk5.jpg.html)

Wooyoung puts his phone into his pocket after reading a text from Suzy, assuring him she’s fine and he doesn’t need to worry about her anymore. It’s been more than a week since the incident and her brother was beginning to resemble an overprotective bodyguard slash father. That’s what the last text was about, forcing him to purse his lips. Is he really bothering her that much? Women are difficult to deal with...

Wooyoung almost chokes on his coffee when he passes by a newspaper stand and notices a very intriguing article on the first page.

_“Kim Minjun is back in the game” ___

__The architect doesn’t take his change when he buys the newspaper as he hurries to the closest bench and sits down, his eyes glued to the text. Of course, it’s the newest article from Yubin. Wooyoung puts down his coffee and frowns. “This bitch...” He stares at the photo of Minjun’s site, luckily the fence was built faster and there’s not much to see behind it. She must’ve bribed someone to get the information about the whereabouts of Minjun’s new place._ _

__Fortunately, she doesn’t know anything valid about the project; the article contains only a few assumptions. Like, it’s being built way too fast compared to the regular building projects and someone was probably bribed for it to happen so. “Hypocrite.” Wooyoung mumbles. She’s bribing people to get the information as well. So who’s worse in this situation? Still the same dirty trick, no matter what’s the reason behind it._ _

__He scans the text again, speculations about Minjun’s secret business expanding more and more. Most likely it has something to do with Japan as he was seen at the airport a few weeks ago. That woman has really good connections and Wooyoung shudders at the thought of her stalking capabilities. Witch._ _

__“Found anything interesting?” Minjun’s voice makes Wooyoung twitch._ _

__“Can you stop being so stealthy?” He closes the newspaper as Minjun sits beside him grinning. Wooyoung checks his watch and notices Minjun’s a bit earlier than they had initially intended to meet up. Like always, this man is punctual._ _

__“Stop whining. So, how’s Yubin’s article?” He lights up a cigarette._ _

__“I take it you’ve seen it already,” Minjun nods at that. “She’s really determined to uncover all your secrets. And I was impressed she found out about the site.”_ _

__“Our little talented Yubin...” Minjun hums briefly. “I should take care of her.”_ _

__Wooyoung turns his head to stare at Minjun, drawing the worst case scenarios in his mind. “How..?”_ _

__Minjun chuckles, noticing Wooyoung’s ominous expression. “You didn’t want to be involved in my business.” He smirks and Wooyoung’s stomach turns upside down. Minjun looks rather sinister, just like the first time they met and he scared the shit out of the wannabe gangsters. It seems like Minjun notices doubt behind Wooyoung’s wide eyes and he taps his wrist. “She's been a pain in the ass for far too long.” His eyes dart away, meaning he's done with that topic._ _

__“Right...” Wooyoung clears his throat. “Anyway, you wanted to talk about something?”_ _

__“Yes,” he exhales. “I’d love to get some help from you.”_ _

__Wooyoung’s ego once again is caressed by an invisible hand as he feels pretty honoured to be trusted by this person. Little by little, Wooyoung’s getting closer to the man. Or is it just his imagination? It doesn’t even matter if it’s some shady business or not. Minjun needs his help and Wooyoung’s still feeling indebted to him for saving his sister. “Sure. What is it about?”_ _

__“Firstly, how is your relationship with planes?”_ _

__Wooyoung sighs as he scratches his collarbone. “It’s possible if I’m on the first class. Economy class with no space and a lot of people would probably freak me out...”_ _

__“I can get a private jet if that would be more comfortable for you.” Minjun offers nonchalantly, getting rid of the cigarette._ _

__“Well,” Wooyoung leans back. “If it’s not imposing on you too much....” The architect thinks that if Minjun wanted to get a flying carpet for him it’d be possible too. Limitless resources._ _

__“Great. The thing is, I’m expanding my business in Japan. Just like Yubin wrote except it’s nothing that shady.” He smirks and Wooyoung shakes his head smiling faintly. “I found a business partner there and we’ll be establishing a conference and resort hotel with full-sized luxury facilities and so on. So why do I need you? They’ve got an architect, but I want to bring someone who’d consult me and them, offer something better architecture-wise. I thought you’d be a great and trustworthy consultant for us. Fresh ideas and all. So, how does it sound?”_ _

__“I could do that. But won’t they be offended or anything? I mean they probably got the best architect for that matter.”_ _

__“No worries. They are my partners, but I’m the investor there. Sure, I bet they got the best architect, but when I told them I’d like to bring someone with a fresh insight they agreed it might be for the best. So, are you up for it?”_ _

__Wooyoung reaches out his hand to seal the deal and Minjun shakes it. “I’m in.”_ _

__“Perfect. We will leave on Friday morning then.”_ _

__“That’s tomorrow.”_ _

__“Yes, so cancel everything.” Minjun stands up as Wooyoung sits there dumbfounded. What the hell?_ _

__“What if I have said no?” Wooyoung’s slightly bothered by the fact everything’s been arranged already. It’s like Minjun knew he’d accept. Is he so easy to predict?_ _

__“I would’ve cried a river.” Minjun chuckles at the younger male and leaves._ _

__

__

__The flight is rather comfortable for Wooyoung. The aircraft is small but on the inside it appears to be bigger than from the outside. There are only a few people on-board – a 3-member crew and Minjun with his Japanese relations master Ok Taecyeon. Chansung must be babysitting the remaining gang in Busan._ _

__There's a convertible waiting for them at the Haneda airport and again, Wooyoung's delighted by the fact Minjun's taken care of everything so it wouldn't bother his claustrophobic companion. When they arrive at the hotel, Wooyoung’s amazed by its authentic Japanese architecture. He doesn't have much time to gaze at the details as he drops his bag in his room and they are lead to a conference hall, prepared for the meeting._ _

__Wooyoung feels a bit out of place when five very formal looking men enter the room and he's sitting here with his bleached hair styled up. At least he’s got a black suit on to make him look more professional compared to the middle aged men. He can't even tell which one of them is the architect as he has expected to see an artsy person. Even though their appearance is rather strict, Wooyoung soon feels comfortable and respected (judging from their non-verbal language as Wooyoung's Japanese language skills are quite rusty, also having Taecyeon as a translator is quite a relief)._ _

__As expected, the Japanese architect presents a rather impressive project, but Wooyoung's nit-picky personality helps him to find a few things that could be changed for the better. Needless to say, that he feels the king of the night as his opinion is met with a great enthusiasm._ _

__After the trip to the actual building that is about to be reconstructed from scratch, they go back to the hotel restaurant to celebrate the deal. The dishes are so good Wooyoung feels the need to unbutton his pants, but he isn't that drunk to act like at home. In fact, he has skilfully dodged the majority of sake offerings and is in a pretty decent condition, compared to some of Minjun's business partners. Minjun, on the other hand, hasn't had a drop of the alcohol and Wooyoung wonders why. His business partners don't even offer a drink to him._ _

__All plates empty, bottles too, and the dinner is over. Compared to the beginning, Minjun's partners are the opposite from the people they've met during the lunch. The entire good-bye ceremony takes about half an hour and when the Japanese leave, Wooyoung feels like crashing into the corner and sleeping for 24 hours. "Wow, that was a blast. Too bad we didn't go to karaoke with them." Wooyoung notes and hears someone chuckle._ _

__"You don't want to hear Taecyeon sing, trust me." Minjun adds, earning a hurtful look from his subordinate._ _

__"Hey! It's not that bad!" He squeals._ _

__"It is."_ _

__"It's not!"_ _

__"Trust me, it is."_ _

__"Okay, maybe a little..." Wooyoung snorts at Taecyeon._ _

__"It's nice when you admit it like a grown up man." Minjun teases him and Taecyeon just puckers his lips. "Anyway, I'm going back to my room. The plane leaves early, so don't oversleep." He glances at Wooyoung and the latter nods._ _

__"I'll see you tomorrow then." He says as Minjun and Taecyeon stand up._ _

__"Won't you go back to your room?" Taecyeon asks._ _

__"I'm gonna take a walk around the area. I need some fresh air." Wooyoung explains, fanning himself with his hand._ _

__"Don't get lost." Minjun says and they leave Wooyoung alone._ _

__The streets are rather calm in this area, not that many people hanging around. Wooyoung feels content with how things developed today and he was asked for a business card from Minjun's partners. Perhaps he will be lucky enough to get important clients from Japan as well. Connections are always good. But there was one thing that slightly bothered him. Do they belong to Japanese mafia? He couldn't really tell. In any case, they seemed pretty reliable._ _

__Wooyoung's a little bit drowsy but chilly weather feels nice. He checks his phone and there are no new messages or phone calls and he feels slightly abandoned. Or mostly offended by Suzy's last text. He knows she means no harm and maybe he is a bit overprotective, but he still feels guilty for letting that horrible thing happen. And if not for Minjun's help..._ _

__Minjun. Wooyoung sighs and kicks a pebble._ _

__How the hell does he stop himself from feeling attracted to the man? The more he tries to change it, the more Wooyoung feels like he's getting deeper. Just like that. He tries to reason with himself by persuading himself this is not the right time and the right person. But no, if he had a tail it'd be fawning every time he sees Minjun and he's more than happy he has no tail. Well, he has another body part that betrays him on lonely nights, but that's easier to hide and handle._ _

__Wooyoung's lost in time when he notices there's less people walking around and he decides it's time to stop being sappy, so he strolls back to the hotel. His head feels lighter and the traces of alcohol are still there, but that walk was definitely refreshing. Exactly what he needs before the sleep._ _

__Right when he's just around the corner in the corridor, Wooyoung hears a familiar voice and something inside tells him to stop. He realises it's Minjun talking on his phone and smoking beside an open window, probably trying to avoid fire detectors or something. Whatever. Wooyoung doesn't really care as he listens to Minjun's muted voice._ _

__"Yes, uncle... I know. She's digging way too deep... Really? I had a feeling he might've been the rat... I understand. So what about her..? Hmm, I thought so too..." Wooyoung hears him exhale the smoke. "I'll tell Chansung to deal with her if that‘s okay with you. He's the best..." Wooyoung peeps through a giant plant at the mobster and he gulps when he sees Minjun wearing a black tank top and sweatpants. He hides again quickly, afraid to be seen as Minjun leans back on the window sill, blowing the smoke with his profile turned at the architect. "Me?" Minjun chuckles. "Sure, I'll show you around the house once it's finished. The architecture is amazing." Wooyoung feels his stomach twist in happiness. "Yeah... So far he seems like a pretty reliable and smart guy, I like that about him." Wooyoung's stomach twists again and he feels like it's trying to tie a knot from itself inside. "Okay, got it. I'll see you once I’m back." Wooyoung's reaction a bit delayed and he's fortunate again, because Minjun's room on the opposite direction from where he's lurking behind the plant. Wooyoung stares at Minjun's shoulders as they leave his field of vision and it's tough to just look at him. Especially after being praised._ _

__

__

__A cloud of dust ascends and Wooyoung sneezes as he walks around Minjun‘s site, pretty content with what he sees. The most complicated part of the project is almost done and all that‘s left is interior and a few minor details in the yard. There‘s nothing better than a smoothly running project to Wooyoung and the contractor seems rather satisfied as well. Money is a huge impact for that satisfaction too as the contractor keeps making jokes around Wooyoung about how he’s going to build a castle for himself._ _

__They part when Wooyoung walks inside the house to check on it briefly and he thinks it‘s about the time to call Minjun and tell him the project’s moving onto the final stage. He holds the blueprints of the house to his chest and dials Minjun’s phone number._ _

__“Wooyoung, what’s up?” The mobster answers quickly._ _

__“Hi, just wanted to let you know that we’re moving onto the interior from tomorrow. The first part of the project is done.”_ _

__“Amazing news!” Minjun sounds excited, which makes the architect grin. “I guess we should celebrate this.”_ _

__“Oh? Really?”_ _

__“Of course, it means everything’s going to be finished soon and I can’t wait for it.” Minjun chuckles._ _

__“That’s true.”_ _

__“So, how about a dinner tonight? Are you free?”_ _

__“Busy till 8PM today, so we could meet around 9?”_ _

__“Great, I’ll text you the address. Oh, and get a suit.” Wooyoung can tell Minjun’s grinning._ _

__“Are you taking me somewhere where people use 10 different forks for 3 dishes?” He whines, because high class restaurants are always so confusing. He’d rather have a simple dinner, but it’s Minjun treating him, so..._ _

__“I’ll teach you everything.” He laughs at the architect’s frustrations and the latter feels like a village boy. “Till later then.”_ _

__He growls and stomps over to his motorcycle. Mrs. Cho’s project has just started and Wooyoung has to make sure everything’s going according to the plan. No doubt, she’s going to ask for a little celebration dinner too. However, tonight’s reserved for someone else._ _

__

__

__Fortune smiles upon him as the bus is almost empty and Wooyoung doesn’t feel suffocated, he’s rather relaxed actually. Maybe he is getting better with his claustrophobia? Or it might be because he’s too busy cursing himself (mentally) for being so agitated as if he’s going to marry Minjun tonight. _Calm down_ , Wooyoung thinks. It’s just a celebration dinner. Totally normal. And still, he’s dressed in his best suit, making everyone even the driver check him out as if wondering what this charming person is doing on this cheap bus. Minutes later, he gets off the vehicle._ _

__Composure. Wooyoung inhales and exhales. It’s better now._ _

__He finds the place soon after and Minjun doesn’t notice him at first, smoking his regular poison. Just when Wooyoung stops right in front of him, Minjun blinks with a cigarette stuck between his teeth, staring at Wooyoung wide-eyed. “Sorry, I’m a bit late.”_ _

__“Not at all.” Minjun shakes the architect’s hand and gets rid of the cigarette. “You’re not blonde anymore. That’s a surprise. When did you change the colour?” Minjun touches Wooyoung’s dark brown hair briefly._ _

__“Yesterday. Min says I look very macho now.’” Wooyoung chuckles, remembering her expression. Or rather, her yelping._ _

__“Well, you weren’t any less of a macho before, but now I can see what she meant by that. It really looks great. The suit’s nifty too.” Minjun nods to himself slowly and Wooyoung’s head is full of silly ideas again. Thank god he can hide his emotions behind the poker face._ _

__“Thanks. Shall we go?”_ _

__“Sure.”_ _

__They make their way inside the exquisite restaurant and Wooyoung hears live piano music coming from the dining hall, instantly making the place appear very high-maintenance and classy. Interior’s quite nice too, though Wooyoung would decrease the amount of a few unnecessary details. He’s behind Minjun when they stop at the reception desk. When the mobster inquires about the reservation, Wooyoung’s ears pick up a familiar voice._ _

__“Sure, we have the table ready for you, Mr. Kim.” The receptionist says and Minjun moves aside, allowing Wooyoung to see the person who’s responsible for the front of the restaurant. His heart sinks in an instant._ _

__How long has it been since he last saw that pretty face? It’s even more handsome now, his features giving him a look of a mature man that he is now and Wooyoung’s drowning in a sea of memories, frozen like an ice sculpture. “Junho...” He mutters and the person from his nightmares looks as shocked as Wooyoung. It feels like time stops between them and only Minjun’s voice helps Wooyoung reach the surface again._ _

__“Do you know him?” He asks casually._ _

__“No. I don’t know him.” Wooyoung deadpans and ignores Junho’s grim face. “Let’s go to our table.” The architect glances away as he can’t bear looking at the person who destroyed his life._ _

__Minjun doesn’t pry into this, however, it seems like he’s slightly annoyed, but seconds later the mobster masks it. The waiter comes to show them to their table and Wooyoung can feel Junho’s gaze on his back, but he ignores it. Some evil spirit must be laughing at Wooyoung right now. His mood has definitely gone down._ _

__They’re seated by the window and even the calm piano music seems to be pushing Wooyoung closer to the edge. This has to be a joke. Out of all places Junho had to be working here. What are the odds...?_ _

__“You do know him.” Minjun states the fact and Wooyoung’s forced to look at the mobster. Lies aren’t an option with this man._ _

__“I don’t want to talk about this, sorry.” He says and feels like a piece of shit. This was supposed to be a celebration dinner, not a funeral. “Let’s get something to drink.”_ _

__As Minjun sighs, Wooyoung feels even worse. It’s obvious the evening’s ruined and asking for a drink so quickly is him trying to escape this. Minjun’s not an idiot, he understands that and Wooyoung can see it. “Fine, what do you want?”_ _

__Wooyoung catches Junho looking at him and it’s the last straw really. He has to do something about it. He leans forward, looking as apologetic as possible. “I’m so sorry, Minjun... This... I have to go to the bathroom. Can we leave this place when I’m back?”_ _

__Minjun leans back, no emotions reflecting on his face. “Sure.” It’s a bit scary how he’s fine with everything. Or it seems to be so on the surface._ _

__Wooyoung hurries to the bathroom and finds it empty, only 2 stalls inside. He splashes some water on his face, his hands holding onto the sink as he stares at it. Why? Didn’t he have enough of crap in his life already? The bathroom door opens and closes quietly. “I can’t believe it’s you.” Junho says, his hands behind him as his back is glued to the door. As if he’s guarding it, but that’s not the case. Junho’s most likely trying to guard himself. This is the first time them seeing each other after that terrible incident._ _

__“Yeah, I guess someone up above really hates me and decided to make us meet again as a punishment for hell knows what.” Wooyoung scoffs and turns around to look at Junho. “How has life been for you since then? Got a wife? Children? Living a happy life, acting like an innocent victim in front of your parents?”_ _

__“Wooyoung...” The hatred in the architect’s voice makes Junho gulp. “I’ve never had a chance to tell you how sorry I am. I realise it now...”_ _

__“Oh fuck you!” Wooyoung snaps. “I don’t give a fuck if you’re sorry now! You ruined my life, you sick bastard! Do you know what I had to go through thanks to your fucking Oscar winning performance back in high school? Do you know what I’ve lost only because you were afraid to admit you actually like sucking cock?”_ _

__“Wooyoung!” Junho yells, clearly offended, but he doesn’t move from his spot. Wooyoung’s furious and he gets closer to Junho, the latter has nowhere to escape._ _

__“Shut up. Let me get this straight. So, you lie to everyone, telling I’m the one who forced myself upon you. You’re the victim and I’m the offender. My parents disown me, kicking me out of the house and their lives, because they can’t deal with the disgrace of having a faggot for a son. I’m left with nothing but my own despair and hate for you. Junho, I had to fight for everything in my life. I had to get up on my own feet. I was the one whose name was tainted. I was the one who got all the blame. And now you’re telling me you’re sorry?” Wooyoung snorts and takes a step back shaking his head slowly. “You can take your apology and shove it up your ass. I lost my parents because of you. You have no idea what it feels like. You can’t just show up in a fucking bathroom and tell me you’re sorry. Oh no, that’s not how it works.” Wooyoung’s panting as he turns around on his heel, he can’t look at Junho’s face anymore. That glimpse of guilt in Junho’s eyes tears Wooyoung apart even more._ _

__“Maybe... Maybe we could fix it...” Junho mutters and that makes Wooyoung stomp over to him again._ _

__“Fix it?” Wooyoung glances away and scoffs. “You can’t fix something that doesn’t exist anymore. Thank you very much for fucking up my life. Now please leave me alone and go back to your family or whatever.” Wooyoung’s boiling like a giant kettle and when Junho walks closer to him and touches his chest so lightly, it confuses the architect. Is Junho actually touching him? The nerve he has..._ _

__“I’m truly sorry. I’ll carry this guilt until the day I die.” Wooyoung doesn’t know if he should believe him or not, for all he knows Junho might be acting again. However, he has to admit that apology looks very honest and it manages to touch Wooyoung in a weird way. Junho turns around and walks to the door and as he touches the handle, he looks back at Wooyoung. “I loved you, but I was too afraid to admit it. You know how the pressure of society works.” The door handle clicks. “I hope you took it all off your chest tonight, but you weren’t the only one who couldn’t fall asleep at night back then.”_ _

__Wooyoung’s standing all alone in the bathroom, barely able to think._ _

__He spends there a few more minutes and when he’s decently composed, Wooyoung leaves the bathroom. His face instantly goes pale when he sees Minjun leaning back on the dark blue wall, just a step away from the bathroom. It doesn’t take a genius to understand he’s been standing there for a while. “How much did you hear?” Wooyoung asks quietly, the feeling of humiliation greater than anything else at the moment._ _

__“Everything.” He says and that’s enough for Wooyoung._ _

__The architect storms out of the restaurant, whishing he could restart this day. He feels so angry and humiliated, that it’s impossible to control himself anymore. Wooyoung’s in a deep turmoil and nothing matters at the moment. He ignores Minjun’s voice calling out his name and when he’s behind the restaurant a tight grip on his wrist brings him to a halt as the force almost makes him crash back into Minjun._ _

__He doesn’t spare a glance at Minjun, he just looks away and feels so broken and stomped on he doesn’t care anymore. “Fucking hell, stop for once, will you? Are you a fucking child?” Minjun sounds bitter as well, his grip painfully tight on the younger male’s wrist._ _

__“Don’t call me a child!”_ _

__“Then stop acting like one!” Minjun yells back and it gets to Wooyoung as it’s so strange to see Minjun actually angry. The calm facade is gone._ _

__“Boss!” Chansung makes an appearance too and Wooyoung looks away. Right, that’s Minjun chasing after him, the nephew of the SSM leader. He’s never alone._ _

__As Chansung’s about to get in between them, Minjun stops him and grabs his subordinate by the shirt collar with his free hand. His voice is quiet, but Wooyoung hears every word and his order leaves him in awe. “Cancel his tracking. Leave us all alone and I mean it.”_ _

__Chansung’s stalling, but as he glances at Wooyoung with a deep crease between his eyebrows, the tall male nods and retreats._ _

__“Let me go home, I think I’ve had enough of humiliation for tonight.” Wooyoung says defeated._ _

__“Hey, I’m sorry about what happened to you, but when I saw him walking to the bathroom I thought you might need help or something.” He explains, however, that doesn’t persuade Wooyoung._ _

__“But you stayed there and continued to eavesdrop, didn’t you?” Wooyoung glares at Minjun, but it’s more of an act of defence now rather than genuine anger. “Listen, I’m going home. Tomorrow we’ll just pretend nothing’s happened. Forget about Junho and all...”_ _

__“I’ll take you home.”_ _

__“It’s fine, I can catch a bus.”_ _

__“No, I said I’ll take you home.” Minjun’s voice imperious and Wooyoung’s too exhausted to argue. He decides to go with the flow and as Minjun feels Wooyoung surrender, he releases the architect’s wrist._ _

__The ride home is quiet as Wooyoung’s brain is overloaded. Not only he has been forced to meet Junho and become humiliated, he’s been exposed as well. Oh, the nightmare... Even if it’s Minjun, who’s always so friendly to him, Wooyoung cannot feel comfortable about this. But then again, the mobster seems rather content with the situation. That is definitely odd, because Wooyoung’s pretty sure homosexuality in a mob like SSM must be a taboo. How they deal with people like Wooyoung? Do they torture them? Wooyoung shudders, as his vivid mind is flooded with macabre thoughts. It doesn’t look like Minjun’s the type of a guy to cut someone’s balls off only because they’re gay. Or maybe it’s just Wooyoung’s wishful thinking._ _

__Why is he taking him home anyway? Wouldn’t it be easier to let him go alone, meet tomorrow and pretend nothing happened? It seems as if Minjun’s dragging himself into this on purpose. What kind of purpose exactly? Being a good friend no matter what? There had to be some sort of a reaction and there wasn’t any. Wooyoung looks at him and the latter seems to be too concentrated to notice it._ _

__No, Wooyoung doesn’t want him to be just a good friend. That’s clear enough. He wants more. But pushing it tonight might end horribly. Should he try it? Isn’t it too dangerous and idiotic? The architect’s heartbeat accelerates as the car stops._ _

__Wooyoung fixes his tie nervously. Should he..?_ _

__“Do you want him to get what he deserves?” Minjun’s question draws the air out of Wooyoung’s lungs and he stares at the mobster with his eyes wide open._ _

__“What? No! It’s not- Why do you even care?” Wooyoung’s hand slides down to his own thigh and his fingers dig deep into it. Is he being delusional?_ _

__“I’m just offering.” Minjun glances away, avoiding Wooyoung’s bewildered stare._ _

__Then a wild idea slams onto Wooyoung. Maybe he’s wrong, but..._ _

__“It can’t be...” He voices out and Minjun’s eyes are focused on his this time. The mobster seems to be puzzled and it adds more fuel to Wooyoung’s racing thoughts. Despite everything, he decides to risk it all. The hell with it. “You’re not shunning me away... We are all alone... Maybe I’m being very delusional, but are we on the same boat? You know what? Before I make this any worse, I’ll just tell you this. If I’m right, just tell me I am right, or nod, whatever. No one will know. If I’m wrong, just let me go. I’ll leave this car and tomorrow we will forget everything about what has happened tonight.” Wooyoung’s feeling like he’s about to win the lottery and the suspense is spiking up all of his senses, but it all dies when Minjun turns his face away from him. That sends a mental blow to Wooyoung’s ego._ _

__Minjun’s letting him go._ _

__Wooyoung shuts his eyes briefly and seconds later he’s out of the car. If he has ever thought he knows what being a complete loser feels like, he’s sure it can’t be compared to what he’s feeling right now. His pride, his self-esteem have been crushed. Who the hell made him spill all the beans? Calling himself an idiot isn’t enough for him and he goes with ‘naive and retarded’ instead._ _

__He wanted so much and got nothing in return. Minjun’s simply being nice to him as a friend. Nothing more, nothing less. That’s how he is._ _

__Wooyoung shuts the door to his apartment so loud it scares the cat and Mango hides somewhere instantly. His pet knows when to leave him alone._ _

__He tosses the tie away and the jacket too, and unbuttons half of his shirt to make his chest feel lighter, but it doesn’t help much. Wooyoung leans on the table with his hands, staring down at the sleek brown surface. This day should be erased from the calendar._ _

__A doorbell startles Wooyoung. He turns around and stares at it across the spacious living room._ _

__Wooyoung doesn’t expect much, probably just a neighbour complaining about the noise when he almost destroyed his door a few minutes ago. He’s reluctant to answer it, but there’s that tiny hope... _Stop it, you idiot_ , he thinks._ _

__He exhales and walks to the piece of wood separating his private life from the outside world. When Wooyoung opens the door, he takes a few steps back, barely believing his own eyes as Minjun closes the door behind him and stands in front of his architect._ _

__“It’s not easy for me... But...” Minjun walks to Wooyoung as the latter’s body is numb. When the mobster’s hand touches that unbuttoned patch of skin and draws his fingers lower slowly, Wooyoung’s stomach is full of butterflies, swans, crows and all the living flying things he can imagine. Minjun leans in closer to the younger male’s ear and Wooyoung’s barely able to hold back. “It’s my biggest secret. Sorry for making you feel humiliated and hurt, but I can’t afford to ruin my image. Not in public.” He pulls away slightly to look at Wooyoung’s face as it changes from shocked to... Determined._ _

__“I should punch you at least once...” Wooyoung chins up. “But your hand on my chest is convincing me to take other measures.” A wave of heat surges through Wooyoung’s groin._ _

__“You are pretty cocky in person, huh?” Minjun smirks._ _

__“Just like you, I don’t expose myself completely outside this apartment. So can we skip the talk and-” Wooyoung’s mouth is shut by Minjun’s lips and god, does it feel like a dream coming true. So many nights dreaming about this, touching himself and imaging it’s Minjun making him sweat, it’s all real now._ _

__Their kiss is fervent, nothing gentle about it, but it’s how Wooyoung likes it the best. He circles his arms around Minjun’s neck, enjoying every inch of his lips and tongue. “Bedroom.” Wooyoung manages to say when Minjun’s lips travel down his neck, his hand undoing the remaining buttons and leaving the architect shirtless._ _

__“Are we going all the way?” He asks, that smug grin on his face arousing Wooyoung even more as they stumble across the floor to the bedroom._ _

__“Of course, I’ve been living like a monk for way too long.” Wooyoung pushes him to the bed and Minjun sits back. He bites on his lower lip, looking at Wooyoung removing his pants._ _

__“And I thought you’d be more modest...” Minjun loosens up his own tie and Wooyoung helps him with all the buttons as his groin is burning in anticipation. When Minjun’s half naked, the architect pushes him down and takes off his pants. Wooyoung crawls over Minjun and straddles the man, relishing in the view beneath him._ _

__Now he can see the tattoo perfectly. Seven black stars scattered randomly on the mobster’s chest. “Do you know how hot that tattoo looks on you?” Wooyoung leans down and kisses all the stars._ _

__“Not until now,” he grins satisfied and pulls up Wooyoung to face him. “Who tops? I really hate lying like this, you know...”_ _

__“Bossy in all aspects...” He hums into the older male’s ear, grinding their clothed erections. Minjun’s gasp at his neck makes him harder and Wooyoung feels like he’s up for submitting to him tonight. “You win this time.”_ _

__“Hmm, thought so...” Minjun quickly switches their positions and now Wooyoung’s beneath him, eager to be pleased. Minjun bites on his earlobe gently and when their lips reconnect again, the mobster’s hand cups Wooyoung quite roughly and the latter gasps soundly into the kiss._ _

__From that point onwards everything’s like in a daze, but at the same time Wooyoung relishes in every sensation sent all over his body. Soon their underwear fly off and Minjun’s skilful tongue travels down Wooyoung’s sculpted torso._ _

__The pleasure’s doubled when Minjun’s tongue starts working on his erection and Wooyoung’s feeling as if he’s going to explode soon. There’s some magic happening between his legs and he stops Minjun on time as he wants to cum together with him. “In the drawer...” He’s given a few moments to re-collect himself while his partner grabs the lube and condom from the night table. During that short period of time he realises he’s really here with Minjun about to go all the way. _That’s unbelievable_ , he manages to think before Minjun starts stretching him slowly._ _

__Minjun’s lips help to distract the attention from what’s happening down there, but it’s been so long it takes a while for Wooyoung to relax. Nevertheless, Minjun takes time and caresses him carefully, showing a caring side that Wooyoung loves so much. He doesn’t know how Minjun treats other people he has sex with, but this feels amazing. It‘s not that often a partner takes that much time and acts selfless, but that’s how Minjun is treating him right now._ _

__“Wooyoung,” Minjun caresses the architect’s inner thigh slowly as he leans down and kisses him. Wooyoung’s burning and he can feel the tip grazing at the entrance, thus his breathing gets faster in anticipation. “Hold on to me.”_ _

__“Alright, boss.” He smiles and clings onto Minjun’s warm shoulders. “Ahh...” Wooyoung moans as he’s being filled bit by bit, while Minjun adjusts the angle to make them both feel great. “God, I’m feeling like a virgin.”_ _

__Minjun chuckles at him. “Let me find that magic button and you won’t even have the time to think about it...”_ _

__“Go for it.” Wooyoung’s grip tightens and he’s sure there will be marks on Minjun’s shoulders later._ _

__Minjun starts moving faster, extracting more sounds of satisfaction from Wooyoung, but he doesn’t miss that time when Wooyoung clenches around him so hard, completely voiceless and he knows he’s hit the spot. He pounds harder into the man moving together below him and notices Wooyoung’s pre-cum gathering on the tip of his cock._ _

__He pulls up Wooyoung onto his lap and makes him bounce up and down, kissing each other passionately, but the kiss is broken soon as Wooyoung’s the first one to cum. He didn’t even need to touch himself. A few more moves and it’s all over as Minjun reclines his head back in utmost pleasure._ _

__They lie down, slowly coming down from their high. Wooyoung rolls on his side and stares at Minjun’s profile in silence, not so sure anymore how to act now. Everything happened so fast as they both were dazed by lust. Though it’s more than that to Wooyoung, he can’t be sure what it means to Minjun and that hinders him. Are they going to be friends with benefits? Maybe this is it?_ _

__When Wooyoung closes his eyes and sighs, there’s a warm hand in his intertwining their fingers. The architect opens his eyes and finds Minjun looking at him with a soft expression on his face. “Are you staying for the night?” Wooyoung asks._ _

__“I can’t. Not until I move into my house.” Minjun smiles, but he seems a bit conflicted behind his warm eyes. “I can stay for a few more hours. Just go to sleep, I’ll leave on my own.”_ _

__“Are you living with your uncle? That’s why?” Wooyoung notices a brief change in Minjun’s face; he’s troubled. Maybe he shouldn’t be asking personal questions. Yet._ _

__“You realise this, what happened here, must never leave this apartment. I have to live up to my reputation and being gay must stay secret. I’m sure you know that, right?” Minjun releases Wooyoung’s hand and rolls on his side as well to face the latter._ _

__“Of course.”_ _

__“Uncle knows about my sexuality. Taecyeon and Chansung too. They’re here to help me, to cover up for me. However, I’m still proving I’m worthy of my status to my uncle. He decided to ignore my sexuality for the sake of the mob. Being an excellent part of SSM is my main goal so I wouldn’t get demoted. There was one condition from my uncle though. Until I’m able to get my own house, I must always come back to his place to make sure I’m doing my part. If I’m abroad, I must call him every night and report. ” Minjun falls silent for a bit to let the information sink in. “Me moving out is a proof I’m ready to be fully responsible for my own actions. It also means a promotion. If I ever fail SSM and my uncle because of my foul reputation, meaning being exposed, I’ll be expelled from Korea. If I weren’t a family member, I’d be killed. Honour is the keyword in my family and no one’s allowed to disgrace it. Even if I’m doing everything perfectly.” Minjun ends the explanation and rubs his eyes as he feels tired._ _

__“That’s a lot of pressure...” Wooyoung contemplates whether he’d ever be able to be in Minjun’s shoes, because it sounds like handling so much stress. It must get to Minjun, but it doesn’t show on him. Maybe that’s why he’s smoking so much? “Your secret’s safe with me. No matter what. I won’t be an asshole, who...” Junho’s face appears before his eyes for a second._ _

__“I know.” Minjun doesn’t say anything else. He just stares at Wooyoung and the latter cannot help himself but devour the mobster’s lips once again. He’s so addictive. Just like a cigarette._ _

__Wooyoung understands now that the conversation with Junho influenced Minjun to do what he did. If he didn’t get a hold of that knowledge, this probably would’ve never happened. Wooyoung has no idea what’s ahead of them, but for now, he thanks Junho._ _

__When he wakes up in the morning, there’s a note left on the pillow._ _

___You should buy more lube._ _ _


	7. Chapter 7

[ ](http://s66.photobucket.com/user/ielektrinta/media/wk6.jpg.html)

It would appear like everything’s still the same, but Wooyoung and Minjun know the difference. Once they’re behind that heavy door – their masks are off. Hands on hips, lips pressed against each other, heavy breaths and lust. Their private meetings don’t last long though. It’s usually Minjun’s phone interrupting them and Wooyoung never misses a deep frown on the mobster’s face.

Minjun doesn’t have his freedom yet; there are many things that he has to take care of. Expanding his business in Japan is taking time too. Wooyoung usually just sits down and stares at the older male putting his shirt back on. Wooyoung doesn’t bother him with questions and only when Minjun finishes his phone conversation, the architect raises his eyebrow. Minjun glances apologetically and leaves, while Wooyoung has no other option but to make his way to the bathroom and finish what Minjun didn’t have the time for. Now that’s a bit annoying.

He doesn’t think it’s true, but somehow the girls at the office notice he looks more, as Fei puts it, “fresh”. Wooyoung doesn’t make a big deal out of it and explains he’s simply happy with the projects piling up. That works for the bunch.

The trouble is, Wooyoung wants to drag Minjun into his bed and tie him up there for at least one night. Now that he got to taste the forbidden fruit, the fruit seems to be even more desirable.

Wooyoung’s rather busy himself as well. Since Minjun’s project is close to an end, the architect grabbed a few new projects. Even Suzy has started worrying if he’s still alive and breathing, because they wouldn’t meet that often anymore. That’s why he promised to see her during lunch today.

“Oppa, don’t overwork yourself.” They settle on a bench in a park. Freshly made grilled sandwiches and coffee will do just fine this time.

“Does it matter? You don’t text me much these days as well.” He puckers his lips, playing resentful.

“I have a life too!” She sticks out her tongue and makes Wooyoung stare at her in question.

“Tell me more.” Wooyoung bites on his sandwich and Suzy looks away.

“Hey, look at this,” She skilfully dodges the previous topic, waving a newspaper in front of her brother’s nose. “They wrote an article about your project for that dance school.”

Wooyoung grins at his picture. “Mrs. Cho wanted a bit of exposure for her future clients. I gave my two cents about how great the new facility will be.” It happened last week and Wooyoung gladly accepted to give an interview. “You can frame that article.” He chuckles and Suzy just gives him the _are-you-for-real_ look as she leans back.

“If you were an idol maybe I-” Suzy’s startled when Wooyoung yelps with his mouth full.

“SUZY!” He yells, food almost dripping out of his mouth.

“What?! Swallow first, will you?”

“Is that a goddamn hickey?” Wooyoung scoots closer instantly and inspects her collarbone.

“YAH!” Suzy pulls back, covering up her neck in a flash. “I don’t know what you’re talking about!”

“You know pretty damn well. Now you’ll tell me who I’m going to kill. Who’s the filthy bastard?” Wooyoung finally swallows his food as it’s too hard to speak and Suzy’s clearly being evasive.

“Oh no. I don’t need you chasing someone with an axe like a psychopath!”

“Damn it, Suzy! What if he’s a closet freak? You’re not safe!”

“On the contrary!” She blurts out offended and Wooyoung’s astonished at her anger. “He makes me feel safe like no one has ever made before!”

Wooyoung is sitting like a lifeless puppet. His mouth is gaping in a protest but no sound is coming out. Suzy thinks she has a superman beside her? What the hell. The only superman should be her brother. “And you won’t tell me who he is?” He asks dumbfounded.

“No.” She crosses her arms on her chest. “And don’t think about hiring a private detective or anything. I won’t talk to you ever again if you do that.”

Wooyoung’s at a loss for words. They sit there staring at each other in silence and only a lonely pigeon seems to be interested in their food, circling around the bench. “Maybe you should be having lunch with him then.”

“Oppa...” She whines. “I’m sorry... But, not now... I’ll tell you, but later. Okay?” She takes his hand, but Wooyoung looks away. Some random dude is more important than her own brother? What’s up with all this secrecy? Is he a priest or something?

“Whatever.”

“Wooyoung oppa...” He glances at her. “I love you.” She does her best aegyo and Wooyoung shudders. She knows it creeps him out and Wooyoung gives her another glance of disapproval.

“You’re incredible...” He sighs. “As long as he’s good to you... That’s what matters the most, I suppose. But still. I hate him.” Suzy rolls her eyes at him and Wooyoung’s phone buzzes. “Sorry, I have to go now.”

“You haven’t finished your sandwich yet.”

“Eat it for me.” He gets up. It’s time to go to Minjun’s site and meet him there for the final check-up of the interior.

“You just want me to get fat, don’t you?” Suzy takes a bite of her sandwich.

“Yeah, maybe the guy’s shallow and he’ll break up with you.” He smirks, not minding Suzy’s irritation.

“You’re terrible.”

“Love you too.”

 

 

Wooyoung pulls over and takes off his helmet – Minjun’s vehicle is already there. He notices Taecyeon and Chansung in the van, but they don’t leave the car. Nevertheless, they wave at the architect. Taecyeon’s always the one who looks like an old buddy, meanwhile Chansung... Wooyoung’s still not very fond of him. However, the latter’s face looks less hostile nowadays. Wooyoung wonders why.

“Hey, shall we go inside?” They greet each other quickly and disappear behind the fence.

“It’s almost done, huh?” Minjun remarks as they enter the house.

“Yeah, there are four guys inside doing the finishing touches.” They walk over to the pool area where the men are working. They smile at them and greet the duo with respect. That’s the first time they see Minjun from up close and Wooyoung knows they’d do anything to get on the mobster’s good side. No one wants to become an enemy of SSM. “How’s the work going?” Wooyoung inquires.

“Just great, I’m pretty sure it’s all gonna be done tomorrow evening.” The team leader gives a reassuring smile.

“Awesome.” Minjun grins.

“Let’s check all the rooms. If there’s anything you want to change, let me know.” Wooyoung says to Minjun as they turn around to do a small tour around the house.

Minjun’s excited to say the least. Every little detail intrigues him and the mobster’s fingers touch all the exquisite things curiously. Seeing him so satisfied makes Wooyoung smile unconsciously and when Minjun looks back at him, he simply asks “What?”

“You look like an over-excited kid.” Wooyoung doesn’t hide his thoughts and Minjun laughs at him.

“That should please your ego, Mr. Architect.” Minjun teases the younger male as he passes by him, his fingers barely touching Wooyoung’s stomach. “I believe we have the panic room yet to see.”

Wooyoung nods and they make their way through the corridor and walk down to the ground level where the panic room is located. It looks like a simple concrete wall, but when Wooyoung presses a tiny black button on it, the door opens immediately and a small room appears in front of them. Minjun steps inside and looks at the control desk and a built-in computer, which transmits live video broadcast from surveillance cameras outside and inside the house. He sees how his pool area is being perfected by the previously seen men and when he looks at Wooyoung, Minjun notices he’s still standing in the corridor. “Aren’t you going to join me here?”

“I don’t know.” He shrugs.

“Come on,” Minjun walks towards him. “It’s all in your head.” He reaches out his hand and Wooyoung looks at the mobster’s slender fingers. Minjun nods, encouraging him. “I’ll give you something if you fight your fear.” He grins and there’s no need to say how much Wooyoung’s intrigued by this offer. Right, it’s only a small room. Wooyoung knows it’s all safe and the walls are not going to collapse onto them. The only wall he needs to break is inside his head.

He gulps and puts his hand into Minjun’s, letting the mobster lead him inside. Wooyoung takes a few steps forward and they’re in the middle of the room. His breath hitches and Wooyoung closes his eyes, doing his best to compose himself. A hand touches his neck, rubbing it gently and Wooyoung’s eyes flutter open. Minjun’s smile greets him. “See, you can do it. I knew it.”

“I... Maybe I can. Where’s my reward?” He stares expectantly, as he fights his phobia on a mental level relatively well.

“Tell me how to close the door first.” Minjun sticks his tongue out defiantly, earning a growl from Wooyoung.

“I’m not sure I can deal with that.”

“Do you want a blow job or not?” Minjun cuts the crap and an invisible light bulb illuminates above Wooyoung’s head.

“It’s that red button on the wall.” He blurts out, slightly regretting he agreed to this.

Minjun walks past him and pushes the button. The door shuts smoothly, almost without a sound, and they’re isolated. Wooyoung turns around and sees that, indeed, the door’s shut. His heartbeat accelerates once again, but before it gets worse, Minjun kisses him.

There’s a bit of his phobia mixed with excitement and oddly enough the second one is dominating the fear. Minjun’s hands wander to Wooyoung’s crotch and rub him through the rough material of his jeans. A gasp escapes into the mobster’s mouth and he presses Wooyoung against the control desk.

Wooyoung’s fingers find Minjun’s hair and he grabs onto his dark strands as the mobster keeps on rubbing the hardening cock. Minjun’s lips travel down his neck as he works on Wooyoung’s belt, unfastening it quickly. Wooyoung’s jeans surrender to the power of gravity while Minjun’s hand sneaks beneath the underwear and strokes him skin to skin.

Wooyoung doesn’t care about the closed door anymore, because Minjun gets on his knees and takes his erection into his mouth. The architect reclines his head back and holds tighter onto the desk, because heavens know that tongue is driving him insane. If he hasn’t been leaning onto that desk, he’d definitely fall down as his legs turn into a mush.

It’s hard to control his hips, but Minjun’s hands hold him tight and Wooyoung lets out a loud moan, not being able to bear the pleasure anymore as he erupts. When Minjun stands up and wipes off his mouth, Wooyoung switches their positions, ready to give him it back. “I’m not letting you leave this room with a hard-on.” Minjun chuckles at the architect’s determination and allows him to do whatever he wants. Mutual benefit.

Wooyoung’s not very subtle as he quickly removes all the obstacles and licks the tip of Minjun’s erection. He enjoys the sounds of Minjun’s velvet moans and Wooyoung knows he’s doing everything the right way. He doesn’t stop the mobster from thrusting, but Minjun’s restraining himself pretty well to make it easier for Wooyoung to satisfy him with his tongue. Moments later, Minjun reaches the peak of pleasure as well.

“Is your phobia cured?” The mobster asks smugly as they pull their pants back on.

“I might need a few more private therapy sessions.” Wooyoung buckles up his belt and gives another slow kiss to Minjun. “How about tonight?” He whispers on the lips.

“Sorry, I have some business to do.”

“Right...” Wooyoung reveals his disappointment unconsciously by glancing away.

“Are you sulking?” Minjun chuckles at him and he seems to be a bit too amused by it, which irritates Wooyoung. He opens the door and leaves the panic room, all that space in the basement making him feel even more comfortable.

“No.”

“Whatever you say...” Minjun hums into Wooyoung’s ear and walks past him. Sometimes he’s being a pain in the ass with all the teasing. “But hey, my hypothesis has just been proven.”

“And what was it exactly?”

“You can fight your phobia if there’s a stronger emotion controlling you. Like that time you were worried about Suzy. And now, pleasure was stronger than fear. Maybe you can find a way to direct that fear towards something else. Perhaps a positive memory will be enough..?”

“Have you been studying psychology?” Wooyoung can’t deny what Minjun has just said actually makes sense, but he can’t have Minjun giving him blow jobs whenever a claustrophobic situation comes up. That’s the issue. Wooyoung has to work on it alone.

“I have Chansung beside me. He loves retelling me all the psychology books he reads.” Minjun grins and an image of Chansung and Minjun contemplating the human behaviour appears in Wooyoung’s mind. A room full of books, the men dressed in boring suits and tobacco-pipes stuck in their mouths as they sit on two massive brown leather armchairs in front of each other. Wooyoung snorts at the thought and earns a confused stare from Minjun.

“Sorry. It’s just I cannot picture you two discussing deep psychoanalysis stuff and such. Not that you’re not capable of that, but... I’ll just shut up.” Wooyoung chuckles into his fingers as he rubs his nose.

“I might just throw you back into the panic room... Alone.” Minjun’s face turns stern.

“I’m sorry! I really appreciate you thinking about my condition. It’s just no one has ever really tried to help me out.” Minjun’s face still stern and Wooyoung begins to worry whether his reaction offended the mobster, when, in fact, he feels grateful and touched. “I really didn’t mean to offend you...”

Suddenly, Minjun breaks into a loud laugh and Wooyoung realises the mobster was just playing with him. “I thought you were going to cry. Your face... Cheer up!” Minjun shakes Wooyoung’s shoulder still chuckling at him.

“Yah, stop this or else...”

“Or else what?” Minjun comes close to Wooyoung, his voice very low.

“Next time, I’ll leave you with a hard-on.” Wooyoung replies with a smug grin on his face.

Minjun’s leans in, obscenely close to the architect’s lips. “Ouch.” He grins and pulls back, making his way towards the stairs. “The house is perfect. Call me when it’s finished.”

 

 

Wooyoung’s back at the office, though his thoughts are not focused on his job as the afternoon in the panic room went better than expected. To be fair, he hasn’t expected such a turn of events at all. Not with four other people in the house. However, using panic room was smart. It’s soundproof, it’s safe and if anything you can watch the entire house from there just by monitoring the security cameras on the desktop.

Despite the fact, that Wooyoung laughed at the image of Minjun and Chansung having deep conversations about psychology, it undoubtedly left him thinking. As far as he can remember, he was slightly claustrophobic ever since his childhood, but it got much worse after he was disowned. Wooyoung hasn’t really tried to deal with it. Getting used to the helmet was the only real attempt to fight his fear.

Wooyoung had had many assumptions of why it got worse. The only logical explanation he came up with was the stress he got from being exposed to his parents which resulted in the following unfortunate line of events. If so, how to fix it? Perhaps the method suggested by Minjun is the only way to deal with it. However, if there’s an emotion stronger than fear (which can rarely be topped, but it’s possible), it’s not like he can summon it at will as if it was a demon and Wooyoung was a powerful sorcerer.

There’s a knock on the door and Min’s head pops in, ruining Wooyoung’s deep self-analysis session. “There’s someone to see you.”

“Okay.” Wooyoung stands up and when he sees the guest, his insides shrivel up. “Close the door, Min. Don’t interrupt us.” She does as told and excuses herself quickly. “What do you want, Junho? I thought we were done.”

“I’m sorry. I was hoping we could have a calm conversation. I googled this place...” He comes closer, fingers fidgeting in his jacket pockets nervously.

“Listen,” Wooyoung sighs, “I don’t think we can chit-chat friendly and pretend everything’s fine if that’s why you’re here. I can’t really forgive you either... So, what’s all this about?” He sits down on the edge of the table.

“That man you came to the restaurant with...” Junho begins and watches Wooyoung’s face intently.

“Yeah?”

“You know who he is, right?”

“I do. He’s my client.” Wooyoung frowns. Having a dinner with another man doesn’t make that man gay instantly and Junho doesn’t know about Minjun’s homosexuality, but if he starts suspecting something more than just a simple client-architect relationship... It is not going to end well. After all, Wooyoung’s sure everyone in Busan knows who Kim Minjun is and messing with him could bring only misfortune.

“So you know he’s a mobster...” Junho licks his lips and Wooyoung can’t help but wonder what Junho’s problem with that is.

“I do. So what?”

“I’m just worried about you.” Junho glances away, biting on his lower lip slightly.

10 years of self-loathing and hate towards this man. A few weeks ago they met for the first time and now he shows up and tells Wooyoung he’s worried about him? Wooyoung stands up and makes his way towards Junho, leaning in very close. “You’re worried about me? What do you care about whom I work for?”

“Even if you hate me, I have completely different feelings. Guilt will never abandon me, so if there’s anything I can do for you now... To repay...” Junho sighs. “Knowing you work for Kim Minjun got me thinking if you really know what kind of person he is.” Wooyoung snorts at him. Junho thinks he knows about Minjun so much just by reading all the articles written by Yubin. “What is it?”

“All clients are of the same to me. Kim Minjun has never done anything to make me regret working for him. You can stop worrying about me.” Wooyoung goes back to his chair and sits down. “Anything else?”

Junho stands there idly, pursing his lips as if deep in thought. “I really wish I weren’t such a coward, Wooyoung. I’ll change that. Maybe it’s not too late.” Junho smiles weakly and Wooyoung remembers how much he loved that smile. Junho grew up into a very handsome man. However, beauty isn’t enough to forgive terrible mistakes.

“Only you can know that...” Wooyoung says quietly.

“Yeah...” Junho nods slowly. “Be careful.” Wooyoung catches a glimpse of that conflicted expression as Junho closes the door.

If only he could turn back time... Everything would be different. But would it be better..? Wooyoung will never know.

 

 

Her car turns into a poorly lit road – one of the drawbacks of living in the outskirts of the city. Her area is surrounded by luxurious houses, owned by rich neighbours. Yubin isn’t an exception. Her profession granted her all the freedom to get what she wants. Many awards for investigative journalism, TV shows and other media exposure made her into who she is now – one of the top journalists in the country.

Automatic gates open and she drives her car into the yard. Her windows are always dark. Yubin sacrificed personal life for her job, but it doesn’t bother her. It’s even better that way as her selfish side is stronger than that of a regular housewife. She never saw herself in that position anyway. Yubin’s close sex buddies were a less troublesome choice for her. No attachment – no worries.

It’s been a rough day though. Not everything went as planned and her ego always suffers when that happens. Petty human beings interfering with her business... Yubin scoffs entering her house. She kicks off her shoes and switches the light on in the hallway, dropping the keys on the desk.

Yubin walks to the living room, ready to see if there’s something interesting on the news channel, but when she turns the light on, her body freezes in awe. There’s the person she wanted to see the most during her entire career sitting on her armchair, staring at her with a smug grin decorating his face. “I believe you’d like to get an exclusive interview from me, wouldn’t you?” Minjun speaks up and Yubin feels a presence behind her. She looks back to see Chansung and Taecyeon securing the way out.

“You should’ve told me you’d be here. I would’ve brought a bottle of champagne.” She comes back to her senses. “Now all I’ve got is an unfinished bottle of gin.”

“You can get that for yourself, now, please sit down.” Minjun motions with his hand to the sofa.

Yubin pours herself a glass of gin swiftly and sits down, staring at the mobster’s smart eyes. “I never thought I’d see you in person...” She says and accepts a cigarette from Minjun as he leans in and offers one.

“You did everything to see me in person so here I am. You must understand my family is a priority to me and I must protect it at any cost.” Minjun lights up her cigarette and does the same to another one, bringing it to his lips. “You’re a smart girl; I thought a few warnings would be enough for you to stop digging around.” He exhales the smoke.

“The last one really got me thinking,” she chuckles. “Messing with my car breaks was very old-fashioned, but impressive. Almost killed me there.”

“I smell a sociopath in you,” Minjun snickers. “Usually one warning is enough, but nothing scares you, does it?”

Yubin takes a sip. “Not really.”

“So if I were to kill you tonight, you wouldn’t resist?”

“I’d love to live some more, but I probably stand no chance against the three of you here. Your bodyguards, or should I say accomplices, must be pros at murdering people who get in your way. I think that’s why you were so kind to offer me the last drink and a cigarette. I didn’t think you had that much humanity in you, but now I see I was wrong. You’re not a very cold-hearted bastard, are you?” She leans back smiling.

“I don’t know. I suppose every person has different moral values, so it’s not really up to me to rate my own level of morality. Tell me, why are you so keen on getting me exposed in all possible ways? Don’t tell me SSM got rid of one of your family members at some point. That’d be too dramatic.” Minjun chuckles and places the cigarette butt in the ashtray.

“No, I simply love doing something dangerous, extreme. Something that would kill the boredom for me.”

“If you weren’t so self-centred and untrustworthy, I’d love to have someone like you working for me. Too bad you’re too dangerous.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment.” Yubin puts the empty glass down, while Chansung and Taecyeon come right behind her. “So what’s it going to be? A headshot? Body dismantled like a pen?”

“No, something less dirty.” Minjun stands up and pulls a syringe out of his pocket. “Something that will paralyse you, stop your heartbeat and disappear from your system. Completely untraceable poison. After that, we will burn the house down, making it look like you fell asleep while smoking. Also, you’ve just had a glass of alcohol.”

“Damn, that’s smart.” She purses her lips in irritation. “For every victim a different method, eh?”

“Of course.” Chansung and Taecyeon grab the girl and hold her tightly pressed to the sofa and at that moment she starts to fight it. “I thought you weren’t afraid of death.” Minjun remarks.

“I kind of changed my mind.” She hisses and tries to kick Minjun, but he holds her thighs pressed with his knee, while his accomplices get a better hold of her.

“I’m sorry, sweetheart, but keeping you alive will bring me down.” Minjun grabs her jaw and pushes her head to the side, exposing her neck as she doesn’t stop struggling.

“Fuck off!” She yells, as the dreadful thought of death actually brings the fear in her and Yubin finally realises what it feels like to be completely vulnerable.

“You brought this onto yourself. This is merely a consequence.” Minjun leans close to her face and whispers as she stares at him wildly. “You can blame only yourself for this. You had a choice. Others didn’t have such luxury.” Yubin gasps when she’s injected with the poison and the next moment she’s released. It doesn’t matter though, her body’s going numb in a speed of light and Yubin knows she can’t do anything. Not anymore. “Someone else... Will bring you... Down...” She wheezes and takes her last breath out.

Minjun stares at her lifeless body for a while and exhales. He hates killing people, but the things he’d do to protect the family... Chansung’s usually the executioner, but this time it had to be him. Yubin was impressive. Until the last breath. Minjun’s used to hearing whimpers as people beg for mercy, but Yubin was truly different. Such a strong personality which felt somewhat close to him.

“Burn the house down.” Minjun doesn’t look at Taecyeon and Chansung, he walks past Yubin’s work desk and something catches his attention. Minjun grabs the file and opens it. “Shit...” He manages to mumble.

“What’s wrong?” Taecyeon asks as Chansung places the body on the sofa and spills a small amount of alcohol on it.

“Trouble.” Minjun says and takes the file with him.

Perhaps Yubin was right. She isn’t the only one who can bring him down. There will always be obstacles and Minjun feels as if it’s never going to end. But how can it, when he’s a part of SSM? It’s a never-ending fight. He walks outside and looks up at the night sky.

He feels trapped in many ways.


	8. Chapter 8

This lazy Saturday is like a breath of fresh air to Wooyoung. He doesn't get that much time off work nowadays and sometimes he has to sacrifice weekends as well. Disadvantages of grabbing so many projects at the same time, he sighs. This will be a good lesson.

As soon as he turns on the TV, Wooyoung frowns slightly eating his cereal. The news of Yubin's death has been the main focus on every channel for the past week. Official statement has it that she fell asleep after having a drink while smoking a cigarette, which caused the fatal fire. Her death feels so surreal to Wooyoung and as much as he likes Minjun, he can't help but be suspicious of SSM. After all, that phone conversation he overheard in Japan had to do something with a female obstacle. Also, Minjun has mentioned something about taking care of Yubin... A crease between Wooyoung's eyebrows deepens. Maybe he's over-thinking.

He hasn't seen Minjun much these days. As the mobster's busy with moving out and probably some secret promotion within SSM (his uncle supposedly had to finally grant him freedom after all), there's not much Wooyoung can do about it. Just wait.

Mango paws at his thigh and Wooyoung hisses, glaring at his cat. She's a bit lonely too and now that she's got Wooyoung's attention, Mango meows. When he‘s done playing with his pet, Wooyoung puts her away gently, feeling the disappointment oozing from his needy cat, and skips to the closet to change into something comfortable for the day. After internal deliberation he settles for black jeans and red knitted sweater as the autumn's been getting colder recently. But when Mango tries to attach herself to Wooyoung's legs, he jumps back instantly. "Yah, your hair will be all over my jeans." Mango takes it personally and darts out of the room, making Wooyoung feel like a preppy bitch.

He walks to the kitchen to sip on a glass of juice before Suzy hits the apartment. She's a bit late though and Wooyoung pours in some more. She was so cryptic when she called this morning it made Wooyoung feel rather uncomfortable. Is she bringing her boyfriend over or what? She was quite demanding asking her brother to meet her at his loft and didn't explain why going out somewhere wouldn't be a better option. As the doorbell rings, the architect skips to let his sister in.

When Wooyoung opens the door, the first thought that comes to his mind is _'Am I hallucinating?'_. But when he blinks again, the architect realises this is not just his imagination. Suzy is standing beside their parents, who look as uncomfortable as their children. To say it's unexpected wouldn't really describe Wooyoung's feelings. This is a pure shock.

Wooyoung stands on the doorstep idly and doesn't know what to do, because, honestly, it's like his head is full of mashed potatoes instead of his brain. Only Suzy's voice brings him out of the stupor. "Um, can we come inside?" She knows Wooyoung must be stunned as she looks at him apologetically.

"...Sure. Come in." He moves out of the way and the trio moves past him. Wooyoung has no idea what's about to happen and why his parents have just showed up. He doesn't know what to do. Offer them a drink? No, that's somewhat weird in a situation like this. They haven't talked for so long and sipping over a cup of tea just doesn't add up to the final equation of whatever is happening here.

Suzy motions their parents to sit down on the sofa as she sits beside their mother. Wooyoung takes a seat across the table and feels so lonely it's suffocating. The only link between him and his parents is Suzy as she seems to be the only one who knows how both sides should feel about this.

The awkward silence is disrupted by Suzy's gentle voice. "This isn't easy for all of us," she says and all eyes are on her. "Mum and dad here are to talk to you about... things." It‘s clear enough Suzy’s referring to the incident and Wooyoung's insides shrivel up. "Mum, maybe you want to start..."

Wooyoung looks at his parents, still not knowing who he should look at because it's still sort of surreal. If only his eyes could touch. "Wooyoung-ah..." She begins and he looks at his mother, his name on her tongue sounding so timid. He has forgotten what it feels like to be called by his name from his mother's lips. Her look is also different compared to that day when they accidentally met as she doesn't look defensive anymore. If anything, one could say she looks defenceless and warm. "We've had so many thoughts about you... About the things that took place 10 years ago... About your... Preferences." She swallows hard and Wooyoung's eyes dart to his father as he takes over the reins from his agitated wife. He's as stern as always, but his voice isn't as intimidating as the last time he spoke to Wooyoung.

"We've been crushed after the incident with that boy... It was truly a disgrace we couldn't forgive even to our son. Also, you being the way you are was just... Too overwhelming." Wooyoung grits his teeth, hoping his heart wouldn't jump out of his chest. Reopening wounds always feels sour. "Over the years everything has sunk in... Resolutions have been made... And a few days ago that boy showed up on our doorstep. Just like it is for you now, then it was just as shocking to us as well. It was as if we travelled back in time."

Wait, what? Junho went to meet them? "He went to see you?" Wooyoung blurts out suddenly and covers his mouth in a quick motion.

"Yes," his mother continues. "His confession was enlightening. And upsetting at the same time..." She purses her lips nervously. "He revealed the truth to us and begged us to forgive him. To forgive you and to give you one more chance, because all of us have lost so much... I didn't want to hear anything at first, but then I understood it must've been burdening him a lot as well. He lied for his family's sake..."

"All this time we've been thinking you lied to us... Now we feel ashamed, because we couldn't trust our son. We were blinded by our own fears. It's still hard to accept you will never marry a woman, but... We can try to accept our son for a good man he is. Now I look at the home you built for yourself, your job... Suzy told us all about your success even though you've had to go through so much alone... There's just one thing to say... We're sorry." There's a burning lump in Wooyoung's throat and there's so much to hold back he just covers his face with his palms and rubs it slowly, hardly believing he has just heard an apology.

"That time I met you on the street..." His mother's voice makes him look at her through his fingers. "I regret saying such harsh words... I just had to push you away, I thought..." Her voice trembles and she looks down. "Our minds have been polluted for so long, the idea of disgrace planted so deep... And this boy shows up and tells us you're not an offender, on the contrary, that he's the one to blame and you being gay shouldn't be an obstacle to let us know how great our son is." She puts a tissue to her eyes and dries the wet skin. Wooyoung can barely contain himself there as well. "We have so much to catch on to. It will take some time, but slowly... And if you're willing to forgive us too... Perhaps we can rebuild this relationship between us again."

Wooyoung stands up and walks around the sofa, not facing his family, and he pinches himself secretly. It's real. And it's not easy to cope with this. He rubs his face again, lost in thought as he tries to collect himself before speaking. What should he tell them anyway? That he forgives them? That they can visit him anytime? Or should he deny them because it's too late?

It's only appropriate that Junho comes to his mind. He actually did it. He has redeemed himself in a way that Wooyoung has never thought he would. The architect raises only one question – why? He doesn't bother himself guessing, because Junho's the only one who knows the legitimate answer.

Either way, Wooyoung must give an answer of his own to his anxious parents. He turns around and looks at their faces; now he notices they seem rather tired. Probably because of lack of sleep, trying to handle an avalanche of thoughts.

"I’ve had so much time to imagine what I would do if you showed up on my doorstep someday. I must admit all my scenarios are worth nothing right now." He comes back to his seat. "I just want to know one thing." His parents stare at him not knowing what to expect and Wooyoung feels as if he wields an odd power over them. It's like a reverse situation where he can choose what to do with his parents just like they had done to him 10 years ago. However, it’s the present now. "Do you love me?"

They haven’t expected such question; it takes them some time to digest it and Wooyoung waits. He's been waiting for so long that a few more seconds mean nothing to him. His mother looks at her husband and tears glisten in her eyes, as she brings the tissue to her nose and rubs against it gently.

"We do." Wooyoung's heart flutters and a heavy weight lifts off his chest. But then his mother stands up and hurries over to him, kneeling down and taking his hands into hers. “We’re truly sorry”.

"Stand up, mum." Wooyoung slowly moves up, taking her by the shoulders and making her stand up as well. Seeing her so humble, seeing his father standing behind her and looking down in shame... Wooyoung tells himself it's okay to forgive. His parents have chosen to fight their own demons.

His mother hugs him and Wooyoung rubs her back soothingly, as he tells her to stop crying. The architect also glances at his father who squeezes his shoulder firmly. Everyone is ready to forgive and accept. Wooyoung's sure, little by little, they can glue all the broken pieces together. Suzy's smile confirms it.

 

 

He stares at the building, wondering if it's the right thing to do. The restaurant looks a bit different in daylight and Wooyoung has already awoken from the hazy and emotional Saturday. He had all night for himself, contemplating things until he fell asleep. Post factum – he's recreating relationship with his parents thanks to Junho's confession. Of course, it would've been much better it that had happened earlier, but Wooyoung guesses Junho had to hoard up the courage as well. Perhaps meeting Wooyoung and seeing him still as bitter as ever had been a catalyst too.

The architect isn't sure if he should pay a visit to Junho and thank him for what he should've done earlier, but a beggar can't choose really. Wooyoung encourages himself mentally and walks into the restaurant where he hopes to meet Junho as it is the place they had first met after a very long time.

There's a girl at the reception desk and Wooyoung’s slightly relieved, but sort of disappointed at the same time. He won't have to talk to Junho, not yet, but he'll have to come back later for him. That's troublesome.

"Excuse me, is Junho working today?" He asks the girl and she stares at him blinking. It's like she doesn't know who he's talking about.

"Err... Junho..."

"... Big butt, nice eye-smile..." Wooyoung helps her.

"Oh." She smiles. "He quit. He doesn't work here anymore."

"Really?" Wooyoung raises his eyebrow and she nods. "Maybe you have his phone number?"

"Ah, I wish..." She blushes. "Sorry, I don't know much about him. I'm new here and I saw him only once or so. But I hope you will find him soon."

"Oh well... Thanks anyway." Wooyoung winks at her and she blushes even more. Sometimes it's nice to make someone feel flustered and Wooyoung grins as he leaves the restaurant.

Maybe it's for the better. Talking to him probably would be too awkward anyway and Wooyoung assumes Junho knows he's thankful. He climbs onto his motorcycle and just then a message ringtone makes him halt. Wooyoung grabs the device and looks at the text – it's from Minjun.

_Eating dinner in this big house is too lonely. Wanna keep me company?_

Wooyoung bites on his lip grinning.

_Anytime. I'll come around 8PM._

He texts back and the motorcycle engine roars. Finally.

 

 

This excitement isn't due to the adrenaline rush as Wooyoung speeds up. He knows it's a bit lame, but he can't do anything about it. Meeting Minjun at his house, alone... Wooyoung wants to meet the morning there as well.

The gate opens up as soon as Wooyoung stops in front of it and he drives in slowly, parking in front of the house. He takes off the helmet and runs his hand through his hair, fluffing it a bit.

"Wow, you look hot in that leather motorcyclist outfit." Minjun's voice comes from the doorstep. "I've never seen you wearing it."

"It's getting colder." Wooyoung explains and walks over to the mobster. It's a bit unusual to see him wear casual outfit like sweatpants and tank-top as Minjun always looks very proper and sophisticated. This actually feels kind of intimate.

"I have something that will make you sweat." Minjun winks and Wooyoung laughs at him.

"Have you always been this cheesy?"

"What's cheesy about that? I was talking about the dinner." He teases and lets Wooyoung in, closing the door.

"You give me mixed signals." The architect unzips his bodysuit and sloughs it off like a snake, and he’s left with black pants and a white shirt only.

"We match." Minjun chuckles staring at their outfits. The only difference is Wooyoung's long sleeves.

"Destiny~" Wooyoung coos as he follows Minjun into the kitchen where the smell of something delicious gets so strong Wooyoung starts salivating like a dog. "Wow, you're actually cooking?" He leans back onto the counter top as Minjun makes his way to the oven.

"Hey, that insults me." Minjun plays offended. Wooyoung swears being together like this is so refreshing. No one gets to see this side of the mobster and yet he can enjoy it exclusively. Awesome. "When I'm not lazy I can cook pretty awesome dishes."

"So, what's for the dinner?" Wooyoung walks over to the window wall and looks into the yard. He notices a dog house.

"Lasagne."

"Are you getting a dog?" The architect stares at the dog house, which looks rather big, but still empty.

"Yes." Minjun's hands wrap around Wooyoung's waist from behind, surprising the latter a bit as the movement was quite stealthy. "Probably a German Shepherd. They’re smart."

"Are you not feeling safe enough? I mean I built you a fortress here." He feels Minjun's breath on the back of his neck and the closeness is so alluring.

"Like I said – it feels lonely sometimes. You've got a cat for yourself for the same reason too, right?" He nuzzles into Wooyoung's neck.

"To be honest, Suzy brought it from the streets for me. She said it'd make feel less lonely too since I’ve had just moved in back then."

"Aren't we a bit pathetic?" Minjun chuckles with a trace of sadness.

"Just a bit." The younger male agrees and leans into the hug when Minjun cups his chin and turns Wooyoung's face to his. The kiss is short and Wooyoung turns around for more, cupping Minjun's face into his hands.

The moment is soon interrupted by beeping and Minjun pulls away, but Wooyoung pulls him back, swiping his tongue over the latter's lips. This time the kiss is hot and wet, and Wooyoung's more than disappointed when Minjun takes a step back, leaving him frowning. "Yah..."

"You don't expect me to burn the freaking lasagne when it took me so much effort to cook it." Minjun takes the dish out of the oven.

"You're killing me, you know."

"Not yet." He places a plate with hot lasagne in front of Wooyoung's face. "This should do the job." Minjun grins and sits down. "Are you always this horny?"

"Only when I don't get sex for more than a day."

"Get out." Minjun laughs at him.

Wooyoung takes a bite of the dish. "It's really good."

"Thanks." They eat in silence for a while and Wooyoung thinks this moment couldn't be any better. Well, perhaps eating in bed, but basically this is what makes him happy. Sitting and eating peacefully like this, talking about random and not so random things. Being with Minjun in general. Yeah, it's really tough to deny that, so why bother? Wooyoung just wants some clarity in his life and it seems like a perfect moment.

"I like you." He blurts out. "A lot."

Minjun's hand freezes in the air and seconds later he puts it down. "I like you too." Minjun's gaze is intense. "A lot." He mimics.

"So, what is this relationship?" Wooyoung pushes and Minjun just shakes his head smiling faintly. The architect can't tell what's behind it, but it's important.

"Do we need a label?"

"It'd be easier for me. I want to know. Just some clarity."

"Oh boy..." Minjun chuckles, "Now this feels like a business dinner when you’re so formal... However, I suppose it's only fair."

"So?" Wooyoung raises his eyebrow.

"Damn, you're so not romantic." Minjun leans back into his chair. "Lover. Boyfriend. Whatever you name it – we're it. As long as it stays strictly between us."

"Awesome." Wooyoung grins and digs back into his food. Just like that. Minjun shakes head in disbelief.

"Anything else you want to share?"

"Actually... Yes." Wooyoung leans back into his chair as well. "My parents came to talk to me yesterday."

Minjun's eyes widen. "Seriously? How come?"

"Yeah..." Wooyoung taps his fingers onto the table. "It's quite unbelievable, but Junho went to confess to them... He spilled all the beans." Minjun sighs and seems to be bothered for some reason. Wooyoung wasn't expecting this reaction. "What?"

"I don't want to seem like a control freak, but I want to ask you to stay away from that man." As much as Wooyoung would like to joke about jealousy here, something tells him that's not the case. Minjun wouldn't ask this without any valid reason. He just wouldn't.

"Why? I should thank him, I suppose." Wooyoung shrugs.

"Just don't talk to him ever again." All the gentleness in Minjun evaporates into thin air and Wooyoung's even more suspicious.

"What the hell. Why?"

Minjun stands up abruptly, one hand in his pocket as he ruffles his hair with the other one. "I don't really want you to be involved in this. You might be my lover, but there are some things that should be kept hidden. For your own good."

"So, for my own sake you won't let me know why seeing Junho is bad for me? Or for you?"

"Yes to both."

"Come on!" Wooyoung stands up too, trying to look into Minjun's eyes.

"Isn't it enough to know you shouldn't see him? Dammit, Wooyoung. Don't make this troublesome."

"Hey, I deserve to know whatever the fuck is happening with him, don't I? Whether you like it or not, we've had past together." Minjun glares at him, clearly pissed off.

"I don't want you to be involved in MY business!"

"What the fuck, Minjun? Being overprotective will only make it worse!" Wooyoung steps closer as Minjun's fuming internally. "Can't you trust me enough?"

"Stop with this trust bullshit. That’s not the issue." Minjun stomps out of the room and leaves Wooyoung fuming on his own. What now? Everything was going so well until Junho's name came up. He sits down to think this through. What could be so bad that would force Minjun to ask Wooyoung to stop seeing Junho? Maybe it's jealousy after all?

A file is thrown onto the table in front of Wooyoung's face. There's Minjun standing beside him, waiting for Wooyoung to take a look at it. Oh, he just went to bring the file... Wooyoung takes it into his hands and opens it. For the second day in a row Wooyoung wants to pinch himself again.

"What... No way..." The architect gulps. "Junho's an undercover cop?"

"Yes."

"Where did you get this file?" Minjun glances away.

"Doesn't matter. What matters is your old buddy is dangerous. Well, to me."

"Shit..." Wooyoung puts the file down, places his elbows on the table and holds his head in his hands, staring at the shiny table surface. "That's why he isn't working at that restaurant... Most likely he never was a real employee there."

"Exactly." Minjun sits on the edge of the table. "We think he was assigned to that restaurant solely for our meeting. Usually, I don't hold important meetings at restaurants and when the reservation was made, I didn't include your name. I suppose the police thought I might be meeting someone for the SSM business. They probably had bugs installed on our table. But that's nothing compared to something else." He falls silent as Wooyoung looks up at him. "Junho knows you, he knows you're gay. If he starts connecting dots and something might slip off your tongue, you know what that would mean to me."

"I do." Wooyoung sighs leaning back. "If so, wouldn't telling me about him be a better option?"

Minjun doesn't reply anything to that. He stands up and makes his way to the glass wall. It's dark outside, but no stars can be seen. "You don't understand, do you? This is why I told you I don't want you to be involved in my business. Sometimes for it to function, obstacles must be removed." His voice is serene as Wooyoung's left to figure this one out by himself.

To remove an obstacle...

To remove... Junho...

"To kill him." Wooyoung sums up. "If he gets too close... You have to kill him." Wooyoung doesn't know how much time has passed while he was contemplating over his own answer and Minjun's silent, which only means the answer was spot on. Unconsciously, he blurts out something else. "Is that what happened to Yubin?" Minjun's silent and Wooyoung's only capable of staring at his back. It looks so distant even though it's just a couple of meters separating them. There's an invisible wall and it seems like Wooyoung can't get past it.

Can he really accept Minjun for who he is? For what he is? He won't change, that's undeniable. Wooyoung slowly comes to the realisation that if he wants to be with Minjun, he has to accept him in every way. Even the hidden one. At this point he can only see the surface. But accepting a murderer? Yubin warned him and Wooyoung took everything too lightly. Or maybe he just didn’t want to hear anything about it. He didn’t want to believe it.

Wooyoung’s thoughts wander to his parents and he wonders if they had the same trouble? Different circumstances, but the feeling's somewhat similar. How much tolerance does Wooyoung have?

He's testing it right now.

"You know who I am. I don't expect you to justify this, to justify what I have to do for SSM and my family. However, it's selfish, but..." Minjun turns around and finally makes an eye contact with his lover. "I don't want you to leave."

Wooyoung looks down gritting his teeth. Does he have to make a choice now? Why must it be so hard? He feels like a rag-doll about to be ripped apart.

“I...” He stands up, holding onto the table. “I need some fresh air.”

Minjun follows him to the exit and watches Wooyoung put his bodysuit on. His stare feels so physical to Wooyoung and in any other circumstance it’d be pleasant, but now it’s somewhat desperate. Even though Minjun’s not saying a thing, he’s not stopping Wooyoung or begging him to stay, Wooyoung knows it’s not easy. To someone like Minjun, who has to check everything one hundred times before trusting someone and letting that someone into his life... It weighs on him a lot. And yet, he grants Wooyoung the freedom.

Minjun leans back onto the door as he opens it and Wooyoung stops in front of him. “Thank you. I just need to think about this. Don’t worry.”

Minjun smiles faintly at the architect and nods. “Take your time. I’m not chaining you to myself, so...”

“I appreciate it.”

As he drives out of Minjun’s premises, a feeling of guilt creeps upon him. It’s weird, because like all moral people he should be thinking about how to get away from that man, but as he rides the motorcycle further away from that house, Wooyoung wants to go back. This is all sorts of wrong, Wooyoung tells himself and stops in an empty street, full of unfinished houses.

He’s told Minjun he likes him a lot when in reality, it’s more than that. And he realises it a bit too late. He’s ready to accept Minjun even if he’s responsible for taking away someone’s life. It’s sick, but Wooyoung can deal with that kind of sick. It’s like you know eating too much sweets will not benefit you, but you still crave for it and sometimes you consume too much. It’s just that this addiction works in a bittersweet way. As long as Wooyoung knows nothing of Minjun’s shady business, he can deal with it. All he wants is to be with him.

“I must be a sick mentally-damaged masochist.” Wooyoung says and turns around.


	9. Chapter 9

This feels like that bungee-jump he has experienced before as Wooyoung gets closer to Minjun's house. Wooyoung knows very well that anyone in his same mind would try to persuade him to leave the man for good, but how can you say no to something that clings to your very core with all its might? A feeling can’t be banished at will. Wooyoung never knew what it was until it came to him. This is love. That's what it feels like to be in love. When all the obstacles are not really obstacles anymore; being with the person you love conquers it all. Sounds careless, but Wooyoung doesn’t mind.

The gate closes behind him and Wooyoung feels at ease when he sees Minjun's serene face. The architect walks over to his lover and they stare at each other while Wooyoung's looking for the right words. Minjun motions him to enter the house as it's too chilly for him to be outside without his jacket on.

"This is really weird." Wooyoung says and Minjun turns around in the hallway, looking at him questioningly. "Anyone else would probably run away from this situation."

"So why are you here then?" He crosses his arms on his chest, genuinely interested in the answer. There’s no pressure though.

Wooyoung sighs and glances away briefly. "I'm crazy, I guess."

"That's good, being normal is overrated anyway." Minjun chuckles at him and walks closer, placing his arms around Wooyoung's neck. "So, you're sure about this?"

"I'm sure about you." Wooyoung states and it's enough for Minjun as he leans in and kisses his lover. That makes Wooyoung feel content.

"Wanna watch a movie?" Minjun pulls back slowly.

"What? There's no sexy bedroom sequel to this kiss?" Wooyoung whines as he follows Minjun to the living room.

"Let's not be a stereotypical couple, shall we?" He yawns as he heads to the DVD shelf. Now that everything's back to normal, Wooyoung notices Minjun actually looks tired. That's right; he's had too much on his shoulders lately, the architect nods inwardly.

"We can be hipster about it, sure. We have plenty of time and space in this house." He grins when Minjun glances at him amused.

"Fiend. What do you want to watch?" He digs through the shelf as Wooyoung unfolds the sofa bed and places pillows neatly.

"The Godfather?" He grins when Minjun looks back at him, clearly judging Wooyoung.

"Come on, that joke is so outdated. I thought you could do better."

"Okay. 'Brokeback Mountain' then." Wooyoung avoids a magazine flying at him.

"I will never ask for your opinion again. 'The Shining' it is."

"We can definitely cuddle watching this. So romantic." Wooyoung doesn't avoid a pillow thrown at him as Minjun lies beside him.

"I don't know why you're still here." Minjun pulls Wooyoung at his ear and the latter yelps.

"You know why." He wiggles his eyebrows as Minjun lets go of his red ear and shakes his head at Wooyoung. It’s never boring with him. The movie begins.

Minjun lies back and feels Wooyoung scoot closer, changing his body position a bit so it'd be more comfortable. "Wooyoung-ah." His voice is a bit hoarse.

"Yeah?"

"I hope you won't regret your choice. And if you ever do – just tell me. I know being with me isn't exactly a dream come true. So if you ever want to leave me... I'll understand. But I wish that doesn't happen."

Wooyoung feels heavy weight on his chest, Minjun's words touching him deeper than he'd like it to. He has a point. However... Letting go of him seems unreal. And he can't help, but be amazed at how Minjun's willing to let go of him just so Wooyoung wouldn’t feel trapped. It's so selfless it pains Wooyoung, because freedom to Minjun must be a luxury. "Thanks."

Only the movie plays in the background, but Wooyoung isn't that immersed in it. He'd love to shut down his brain for a moment just to stop himself from thinking too much. It's probably 10 minutes into the movie when he hears a deep soft breathing and he notices Minjun's already asleep. Wooyoung takes the remote from Minjun's hands and turns the TV off. He pulls a blanket over them and hugs his lover's waist, pressing his chin to Minjun's shoulder. For now, everything seems to be fine.

 

 

He huffs and thin vapour escapes his mouth. His eyes are sharp, concentrating on the target as every muscle tenses in his body. Wooyoung kicks the ball and when it flies into the net, the other two guys in his team scream and jump on him as that score settles the match. Playing football with old buddies from his university days is what Wooyoung's missing sometimes. Work, home, Minjun – that's all his life revolves around now, not that he complains, on the contrary; but getting reunited with old friends feels great and he's reminded once again that he should do that more often. Unfortunately, there's only 24 hours in a day. Despite that, all of them have decided to play even if it's already dark outside and this year the autumn weather is quite a hassle too. That's irrelevant when you have fun.

They chitchat some more and go their separate ways as it's getting pretty late. Wooyoung doesn't change his sweatpants and shirt; he jumps straight into his bodysuit and gets on his motorcycle, ready to go to Minjun's place. He has come back from Japan this morning.

His usual road to Minjun's is blocked by some signs stating it's under construction, so he takes an alternate route without thinking too much about it. It's a nice road though; there's a shopping district on his left and a cosy park on his right. He glances at people walking hand in hand and thinks to himself that one girl looks like Suzy. Her boyfriend's tall and his arm is conveniently draped over her shoulders. Wooyoung glances at the pair again and notices a bag that's identical to the one he gave Suzy on her last birthday. Then he looks at the guy and he's painfully similar to... Chansung. And he kisses the girl's cheek...

"Wait..." He mumbles inside the helmet. Realisation strikes him like the wildest lightning. "Hold the fuck up!" Wooyoung screams despite the fact the sound doesn’t leave the helmet. He speeds up and his motorcycle jumps on the sidewalk, driving past the couple and stopping in a nice U turn, making the pair halt. Without any formalities Wooyoung removes his helmet harshly and moves so fast towards Chansung, the latter is completely taken aback when Wooyoung's fist meets his face. He stumbles back a few steps and Wooyoung's ready to give him some more, but this time Chansung catches his fist. "You fucker!" Wooyoung yells and tries to punch him again, but Chansung's self-defence is on full power and he can't do much against it. Wooyoung's not a fighter unlike the mobster. "You'll never touch her again! Over my dead body!"

"Wooyoung!" Suzy's voice makes him stop and she pulls at his arm to make him leave Chansung in peace. "Stop it!" He looks at her face and notices her startled expression. Wooyoung then notices a couple of people staring at them and the feeling of embarrassment dawns upon him. He hears someone whispering if they should call the police and it angers him. "That's none of your business!" He yells and the people look away. He looks back at Suzy. "Suzy, what the fuck?! Him? You must be out of your mind!"

"Wooyoung, this is really not for you to decide!" She replies harshly, offending her brother even more.

"This has to be over. Now. Not with him. Don't you know he's..."

"Wooyoung, let's talk in private. Can you manage that? We're drawing too much attention here." Chansung says and as much as he'd hate to admit it, Chansung's right. People are still staring at them.

"Fine." He stomps a bit further away, fuming inside as Chansung follows him. They settle by a bench with some bushes around them and it seems like the commotion is over. It's just Suzy left standing by his motorcycle, looking pretty sad and it hurts Wooyoung.

"I'm sorry it turned out this way. But we all knew you wouldn't like this." Chansung says calmly.

"No shit."

"Suzy's a grown up woman, Wooyoung. You're not her father to forbid her from seeing men."

"Every other man would be fine. I don't want her to be with you. For very obvious reasons." Wooyoung's eyes bore into Chansung's.

"Because I'm a part of SSM?"

"See, you know the answer."

"Now you're just being a hypocrite, Wooyoung." Chansung smirks and Wooyoung grits his teeth in anger.

"Huh?"

"Minjun." Wooyoung stops breathing for a moment hearing that name. "So it's okay for you to be with my boss, but it's not okay for me to be with your sister? Isn't that hypocritical? I understand you don't want your sister dating someone... Let's say 'dangerous'. But it doesn't seem like you care much about that when it comes to Minjun. And he's above me. He's really powerful and dangerous. I'm just working for him. If your sister told you to break up with him, what would you do?"

Wooyoung turns his head away, staring at nothing in particular. Chansung has a point; he really does, but... "Shut up."

"She will never know about you two though, because I have to protect Minjun and all his secrets, including you. I'm not asking you to approve of our relationship, though it'd be nice, but I'm asking you to understand. I love her. She loves me too." It's surreal to see such a gentle expression on Chansung's face as he glances at Suzy, who's still pacing around the motorcycle nervously, but Wooyoung's too angry to listen, even more – to understand.

"Screw you." He says and walks away quickly, the worried expression on his sister's face still as vivid as he approaches her.

"Wooyoung?" She asks as he grabs the helmet off the ground.

"Not now, Suzy. Not now..." He sits on the iron beast and glances at her. "Sorry, but I really can't stand him." He puts the helmet on and leaves.

 

He wants to kill someone. Chansung, to be exact. Wooyoung wants to remove him from Suzy's life, because that asshole doesn't deserve his sister. And what a dick – he manipulates Wooyoung by mentioning Minjun? "Dickhead." Wooyoung scoffs inside his helmet, getting closer to Minjun's house. He doesn't want to admit that he's indeed being a sort of a hypocrite. He's sure this is completely different. It's his little sister. Doesn't matter she's 23.

When Minjun opens the door for him, Wooyoung just stomps inside furiously, making it clear he's pissed off to the infinity. "Chansung's a twat." He states and Minjun looks at him confused.

"What?"

"Motherfucker's been dating my sister for hell knows how long!" A very irritating (to Wooyoung) smile appears on Minjun's face and the architect feels betrayed instantly. "Don't tell me you knew!"

"Maybe..."

"Are you fucking kidding me?" Wooyoung follows Minjun to wherever he's walking and his anger climbs onto another level. "I can't believe this! Your minion dates my sister, you know I dislike him and you keep quiet about this? What the fuck?" He screeches when they enter the pool area.

"Wooyoung-ah," Minjun turns around to face him. "You need to calm down. This is unhealthy."

"No way in hell I'm going to calm down. You have to make him leave her. You have to." He fumes.

"I'm not a dictator."

"You're his boss!"

"He's my friend too."

"Who the h-" Wooyoung's not fully aware of what's happening, but when he realises that's the bottom of the pool and he needs some air to function, he thrusts up powerfully as his bodysuit weighs like 5 tons with all the water in it. When his head is finally above the surface, he coughs a bit and looks at Minjun who's squatting and staring at him placidly.

"Calmer now?"

"Was that really necessary? My bodysuit's all drenched now."

"At least there’s no steam going out of your ears and nose anymore. And it seems like you have to stay for the night now." Minjun grins.

"Very fucking funny."

"Listen," Minjun rubs his neck as Wooyoung floats. "I can't do anything about it. You have to understand. I think you also can understand why they chose to keep it a secret. The main reason is floating in my pool right now." Wooyoung rolls his eyes. "You might not know this, but Chansung's a very trustworthy and caring man. Especially to the ones he loves. And there are not many people like that. He'd always put those people first, no matter what. Trust me, when I tell you he was the one who wanted to let you know about their relationship, but it was Suzy who stopped him. She was afraid you'd react like a psycho, which, you did." Wooyoung looks away, no emotion on his face. "You don't have to be happy about them, but you can try to understand them. After all, you chose to be with me despite the fact I'm responsible for lots of unflattering stuff I have to do for SSM. You have to understand we're in SSM not because it's been our dream ever since we were born, but because we belong to the family and have to take care of it. Chansung got a bullet for me once, that's how loyal he is. And if anything were to happen to Suzy, he'd sacrifice everything to keep her safe. Being a member of SSM isn't about vanity and pride – being a member of SSM is all about loyalty and trust. Chansung's a good man. At least to Suzy. Isn't that the most important thing?" Minjun stands up and exhales, looking at emotionless Wooyoung. "Take your time. I'll bring some fresh towels to the bathroom." He abandons the pool area and leaves Wooyoung alone, floating like a very sad jellyfish.

He slowly reaches the ladder and pulls himself up as the water flows through his bodysuit on the tiled floor. Wooyoung knows Minjun's right; however, coming to terms with it isn't the easiest task in this world. When you're against something so much and your principles block all the rationality, there can't be a harder fight than the one against yourself.

_'If your sister told you to break up with him, what would you do?'_

Wooyoung frowns. No one can tell him what to do. It's his life, his choice. But it's his sister... And the Bastard. He makes his way to the bathroom, undresses himself and goes for a quick warm shower – the best place for philosophical life-changing thoughts.

He's always been way too overprotective of his sister. Perhaps it has to do something with the fact she's the only one who has cared for him no matter what. Wooyoung wants to do the same. He wants her to be safe and happy. Is that possible if she's with Chansung? Wooyoung squeezes way too much of shower gel out of the bottle at the thought, like, half of it. Sometimes there are people you dislike for no reason and Chansung is that person to Wooyoung. Well, he's been acting like a dickhead at first too, but not so much now. "Because the motherfucker is dating my sister," Wooyoung concludes.

Suzy's happiness. 

Wooyoung's arms drop as he stares at the tiles solemnly. Chansung makes her happy, obviously. She feels safe with him too. She's okay with him being a member of SSM... The only problem is Wooyoung. His shoulders slump down even more. God, why is this so depressing? The only thing Wooyoung has to do is to admit Suzy can make her own choices. As much as he doesn't want to, Wooyoung understands she's not a baby anymore. She'd probably be pissed off too if she knew he's dating Minjun, but Wooyoung knows she wouldn't pry into it and she definitely wouldn't give him an ultimatum such as break up. She'd accept his choice. So, Wooyoung must suck it all up and do the same. He can't hurt the only person who's been with him through hot and cold.

He dries himself off and puts a bathrobe on, sure of his decision. Unhappy, but whatever. Wooyoung finds Minjun in the bedroom, sitting on the edge of the bed facing the window, occupied with a tablet in his hands. Wooyoung crawls over the bed and his arms circle around Minjun's waist from behind, pressing his lips to the older male's naked shoulder. "You're right." Wooyoung speaks up silently. "I know I'm an idiot."

"Yeah, you are." Minjun puts the tablet away and flinches when Wooyoung pinches his stomach in retribution.

"Her happiness is the most important thing, right?" Wooyoung asks even though the answer’s pretty clear on this one.

"That's true."

"I guess I have to accept them."

Minjun turns around to face his depressed lover and slips his hand over Wooyoung's chest to his neck. "Hey, I know it's not easy. I mean, I'd probably be against that too if I were in you. But I know Chansung and if I had a daughter I'd command her to marry him." They both smile.

"How did you come to know him?"

"I saved him." Wooyoung raises his eyebrow and Minjun knows his boyfriend wants him to elaborate. He sighs. "Chansung had an abusive stepfather. The man beat his mother to death when Chansung was just 15, so he killed him and ran away. Sometime later he tried to rob my uncle when the two of us were leaving a restaurant after my 18th birthday dinner." Minjun chuckles. "You could see he was just trying to survive. My uncle noticed that too, so we took him in. One glance is enough for my uncle to decide who we should keep by our side and his choice to make Chansung my personal bodyguard was the best decision he's ever made. Taecyeon was another addition from the streets a few months later. He bonded well with Chansung and not everyone's capable of that."

"You love picking up strays, don't you?" Wooyoung's hands slide over Minjun's bare thighs until he reaches the hem of the mobster’s underwear.

"That might sound cold-hearted, but damaged people are usually more loyal. Their attitude is different from those who haven't experienced life on edge. Of course, some of them are too damaged, but we have our methods of separating the two."

"I'm damaged too."

"You're different." Minjun smiles softly and leans in for a kiss.

Wooyoung responds eagerly, pushing Minjun down and hovering above him. Being damaged feels good when you have someone to fix you. Ever since he's met Minjun, there have been a few changes in his life. Wooyoung deals better with his claustrophobia, he has reconciled with his parents and most of all – he's finally happy. He had so many walls built around him and Minjun made them crumble so easily. He's doing that every day. And if a person can make you change for the better that much, how can he be a bad person? Wooyoung doesn't care about SSM or what Minjun and his people have to do for it. He cares only about Minjun as a person. And he realises Suzy is the same too.

When they pull away from each other to breathe, Minjun tells Wooyoung something that triples his joy.

_Do whatever you want to me tonight._

And Wooyoung does.


	10. Chapter 10

On any other occasion this trip would be a joy to Wooyoung; a nice weekend of relaxation. This, however, feels like an extended torture, where he has to bond with Chansung. It's been a few weeks of him trying to get used to the idea of sacrificing his only sister to the devil (or he imagined so, clearly overreacting and being aware of it). Unfortunately, Minjun came up with a terribly great idea (to which Suzy said a very eager "YES!") to have an all men's weekend at his uncle's lake house. 

So, there he is now, in Minjun's van sharing the backseat with the man himself, Taecyeon and Chansung duo in the front seat, chitchatting casually. There's been an improvement though – Wooyoung's able to share the same air particles with Chansung in this car without getting a claustrophobic fit. Also, he had to apologise to Suzy, which made him feel like an ass, because she was so sad at how he handled the news, Wooyoung's heart almost took a vacation taking an internal jet plane through his stomach. He had to go on this trip no matter what. Maybe he will see something in Chansung that Suzy sees. He shudders.

If he didn't know Chansung, Wooyoung would probably think of him as a cool dude, but he KNOWS. Chansung, on the other hand, doesn't seem to mind Wooyoung's inner struggles as he laughs at Taecyeon's story of him trying to avoid his neighbour's crazy Chihuahua. Sometimes Wooyoung thinks Taecyeon is just making up stories, because they always seem like something from comics. Wooyoung flinches slightly when Minjun's hand touches his knee as the latter leans closer. "We're almost there." Wooyoung nods. "Hey," the architect looks at Minjun. "Don't be so uptight."

"Sure, just let me hit my 'undo uptight' button."

"I'll do that for you tonight if you behave nicely." He smirks at conflicted Wooyoung and pulls away. They're close to the destination.

 

Wooyoung's immediately drawn to the architecture of the lake house. Huge grey stones and dark brown massive round logs with a tint of orange. The building looks cosy from the outside and when they enter it, Wooyoung's not disappointed – stone and wood details are in perfect harmony and everything is complimented by an old fireplace. Whoever was working on the house, they were influenced by the Northern Europe architecture, meant for cold winters. The house itself wasn't very big; there was an office, a kitchen and a living room on the first floor and the second one contained two bedrooms and bathrooms. Simple, but neat house for vacation.

Wooyoung flops on the bed, sighing heavily. This is such a nice place, if only... He growls.

_Be a man._

He tells to himself inwardly.

_Be a fucking man and deal with it._

"Ugh," he voices out his frustrations and doesn't move when Minjun crawls on top of him and straddles Wooyoung's hips. "This better be something good that comes out of your mouth."

Minjun leans down and cups Wooyoung face as he kisses his lover slowly. They take time, adding more depth into the kiss, Wooyoung's hands wandering down Minjun's back, grasping the hem of his jeans. "Is it good?" Minjun pulls back to stare down at Wooyoung's defeated face.

"I was expecting some lame encouragement words, but this is so much better."

"Yah, who's lame here?" Minjun pinches Wooyoung's cheek, perfectly knowing the latter hates it.

"Yah!" Wooyoung rubs the molested cheek immediately.

"Save it." Minjun sticks his tongue out briefly, getting up from the bed. "Not so uptight anymore?" He smiles at Wooyoung softly and leaves the room.

Wooyoung sighs again. This man...

 

Fishing in the middle of the lake is somewhat relaxing and the fact you can't talk much when you're fishing is putting Wooyoung at ease. It's cold though and Wooyoung wonders how come this lake isn't fully covered in ice yet. Maybe he should study something about meteorology. The view around them is spectacular; high hills covered in snow, almost like mountains. Perhaps Wooyoung should study some geology too. The rest of the day goes pretty smooth as well, Wooyoung's being less anxious as Chansung asks him simple questions, like, 'can you pass the salad' at the dinner table. And Wooyoung hates to admit it, but Chansung's cooking is sinfully good. At least Suzy won't be starved. He compliments Chansung's cooking skills and earns a meek smile from the latter. This actually makes him shudder, but Wooyoung doesn't show it. That smile wasn't a casual one. It's like a smile of... acceptance. It hits Wooyoung, that not only him, but Chansung also has to accept Wooyoung. He's dealing with that so much better though. But Wooyoung's close, determined to work on his attitude towards Suzy's love object.

"The fireplace is dying. Who wants to get more firewood?" Minjun inquires and it doesn't take long for a volunteer to appear.

"I think Wooyoung and I can handle the task." Chansung looks at Wooyoung, who has no excuse to refuse.

"Sure." He agrees and walks out of the room, missing Minjun and Taecyeon's simultaneous grins.

Wooyoung zips up his winter coat as they step outside, warm vapour escaping into the cold from his mouth as they make their way to the woodshed. Someone has to be the first to talk and every delayed second is like a knife digging deeper into Wooyoung's throat, because he feels like it's him who has to take the first step. "Is Suzy still mad at me?"

"It's not like that." Chansung answers calmly. "She's just worried about you, that's it."

"She always worries about me and..."

"You worry about her too. I get it." They stop beside the woodshed, a little ray of light from the house falling on it. "I didn't like you at first." He deadpans and somehow this honesty doesn't make Wooyoung feel bad. "I was worried for Minjun. I thought what if that architect betrays him? What if he's working undercover? What if he's going to spill out all about Minjun's personal life? I had many doubts."

"... You had the right to have them, I suppose." Wooyoung nods.

"Yeah. But Minjun trusts you, so I had to do the same. And then I met Suzy. Saved her. We talked about you before you got there with Minjun. She left her phone number in my jacket, which I gave her that night and retrieved it later. I know I'm not the type of person you wish your sister was with, but you can't be a hypocrite when it comes to me and her, and you and Minjun." Chansung pauses, waiting for Wooyoung's reaction.

"I know," he replies finally.

"I love her." Chansung declares and that's enough for Wooyoung. Everyone has to be given a chance and this man is so persistent that Wooyoung can't help, but admire him.

"I want her to be happy. That's all." Wooyoung extends his hand and Chansung grabs it, shaking it in an agreement.

"Same here."

"I will cut off your balls if you ever make her cry though."

"Won't happen." Chansung grins back at Wooyoung as they're done with their handshake. This makes Wooyoung feel content and the anxiety is finally gone.

Moments later, their arms are full of firewood and Chansung closes the woodshed door with his heel. However, Chansung suddenly halts, when that strip of light coming from the house is gone and it seems like the entire house is completely dark. "Is the electricity gone?" Wooyoung inquires and Chansung lifts up his arm, signalling to be quiet. They both put down their load of firewood and Wooyoung notices a shadow entering the house. Chansung reacts quickly, pushing Wooyoung behind a thick tree. "What was that?" He whispers.

"I don't know. But it's bad. Listen," he looks at Wooyoung. "Stay beside me no matter what. It'll be easier to protect you that way."

"Protect? Wha-" A sound of a gunshot pierces the air and Wooyoung gulps, staring at Chansung's face, which has an unreadable mask on it.

"Minjun." Chansung says, his voice eerily calm. Wooyoung's eyes widen when the mobster pulls out a gun he hasn't even noticed before. A few more gunshots are heard and Chansung doesn't waste any more of their time. "Follow me." He commands and Wooyoung follows. Chansung's like an eagle, thinking of every possible threat as they move towards the house, and that empty silence is starting to get to Wooyoung. He can't help but wonder – how the hell is Chansung so calm when his own heart is beating so violently?

They reach the back door, which is slightly open, and Chansung glances at Wooyoung, nodding towards the entrance. Wooyoung nods back, his insides twisting painfully as they quietly move inside the unlit building. Wooyoung's reaction is delayed and he totally misses the offender, who's about to blow out their faces, but Chansung's faster and the bullet from his gun conquers the enemy first, droplets of blood reaching Wooyoung's coat. Has he just witnessed a person being shot into the head? Wooyoung's body is frozen and Chansung's hands push him quickly behind the refrigerator. There's no second to waste.

"Wake up, we're not done yet." He whispers and Wooyoung nods, trying to collect himself as much as possible. He doesn't understand what's happening, when a bullet flies right beside his cheek, but Chansung looks back and fires at the masked enemy, who doesn't fall down despite the fact he has a bullet in his chest. He just keeps firing and eventually crumbles, as Chansung's bullet pierces through his neck. When Wooyoung finally blinks, he notices a trail of blood on the corner of Chansung's mouth. He can't see well in this darkness, but as Chansung takes a step towards him, Wooyoung has to catch the mobster, because he's not able to stand properly.

Only then Wooyoung is able to feel the warm liquid gushing through Chansung's coat, hardly believing it is what it actually is. He immediately rips the coat open. "Wait. No." He whispers, his knees touching the floor as Chansung's weight pulls them down together. The puzzled architect's breathing gets heavier, when he looks down at Chansung's torso and notices two bloody holes – one in the chest, another one in his stomach. "No no no..." Wooyoung says quietly, hoping he's just seeing things that don't exist.

"Finish him..." Chansung slides his gun over to Wooyoung's hands, resting on his chest, trying to stop the blood. Wooyoung looks past Chansung and notices the half-alive enemy, who is trying to reach his own gun and realises that this is not over yet.

"But..." He gulps, knowing the inevitable.

"Suzy can't lose both of us." Chansung says and Wooyoung takes the gun gingerly and points it to the enemy's head, hoping his aim to be flawless. It feels surreal when he pushes the trigger and the man falls down for good, a fatal wound gaping in the head. "Nice..." Chansung coughs and Wooyoung immediately takes off his coat, pressing it down on Chansung's wounds.

"This is bullshit. You can't just... Die like this..." He says, a hard lump forming in his throat.

"You better cut off my balls while I'm still breathing, because she's gonna be crying." Chansung chuckles, another bloody cough erupting from his throat.

"You idiot." Wooyoung chuckles bitterly, his vision getting blurry, trying to fight his tears.

"Come on. Find Minjun... and Taecyeon..."

"Yeah..."

"Hey... Watch over her, okay..?" Wooyoung smiles as Chansung's eyes are slowly closing.

"Mhm... You do the same." Chansung replies with a weak smile on his face and this is the last of him that Wooyoung sees. He has no idea how he's going to deliver the news to Suzy and it pains him, because Chansung showed so much love towards her during this short period and Wooyoung will never be able to comfort her enough. If this was Minjun... Wooyoung shakes his head at the thought; he must be fine.

Wooyoung perks up, hearing a creek upstairs. He stands up quickly and checks the gun. Only one bullet left. This will have to do. Wooyoung makes sure the staircase is safe, making his way up silently. He halts when he sees a dead body on top of the stairs, but it seems like the person is dead, so he moves towards Minjun's bedroom and when he enters it, he finds it empty. This momentary serenity doesn't last long, because when he turns around there's a gun right in front of his face. Wooyoung's gun is also pointing at the person standing before him, but even in this darkness he can tell that bulky body belongs to Taecyeon.

"Almost shot you." Taecyeon says and Wooyoung sighs in relief when he sees Minjun behind him.

"Are you okay?" Wooyoung inquires and then notices a trail of blood on Minjun's arm, quickly coming over to him and touching it carefully.

"Slightly grazed, other than that, I'm okay. You seem to be fine. Where's Chansung?" Minjun stares at Wooyoung expectantly and it's hard to find the right words in this situation. How do you tell Minjun that a person, who's like a brother to him, is lying dead downstairs?

"He... He is..." Wooyoung looks down at Chansung's gun in his dirty hands, covered in blood.

Minjun doesn't stay idle. He dashes downstairs, Taecyeon's right behind him and Wooyoung doesn't have the strength to move. He shuts his eyes.

_Stay strong._

Wooyoung blinks and runs downstairs. There's Minjun on his knees, looking at Chansung's lifeless body. Taecyeon's just standing there, barely staring at anything at all, completely immersed in his own world.

Chansung wasn't just a bodyguard. He was a family member. A family that will do anything for each other.

"They're going to regret this." Minjun whispers and Wooyoung's taken aback by that fierce look in the mobster's eyes, which could mean only one thing. More blood will be spilled.

 

The funeral and everything that happened after that dreadful night passed by like in a haze. Wooyoung seemed to be lost in time. Comforting Suzy was the most complicated thing. She coped with it in her own way. Wooyoung wanted to object her decision, but he realised it was not his call. Suzy chose to switch universities and go to Canada, hoping it would heal her and Wooyoung couldn't say no to that. Everything here reminded her of Chansung and making drastic changes seemed to be the only right choice in her mind.

Wooyoung, on the other hand, was excluded from the further events related to that night. Of course, Minjun had to call the ambulance and police to report the assault, but they made sure there wouldn't be a hint of Wooyoung's presence in this matter. It was for the best and Wooyoung didn't really have a choice when it involved internal mob wars. All Wooyoung had to know it was the Japanese trying to intimidate SSM and Minjun due to his expansion plans in Japan.

Wooyoung didn't think much about the person he had to kill. It was either him or the enemy and Wooyoung fully understood it was self-defence. He thought it'd affect him more, but lately he's become numb to mob related things. Wooyoung didn’t know if it's good or bad, but dealing with everything on a more sensitive level would probably make him go insane.

There was one problem left though. He didn't know where Minjun was or what he was doing.

Wooyoung exits his studio and locks the door, being the only one to stay over time. Christmas lights reflect on dark windows and it doesn't make him feel cosy or whatever should be felt during this season. Being uncertain sucks. He turns around to walk over to his motorcycle and stops when he sees a person leaning on his vehicle.

"Do you follow me on your spare time?" Wooyoung asks, as he comes close to him.

"Only today," Junho gives his signature eye-smile. "I heard you were looking for me."

"That was like a month ago or so."

"Yeah, well, I had some problems."

"Like?" Wooyoung raises his eyebrow and leans back on his motorcycle as well.

"Like getting assigned on another case. I'm pretty sure you know what my job is." Junho looks directly into Wooyoung's eyes, all serious all of a sudden. 

"What makes you think I do?"

"People talk, Wooyoung. And as you're acquaintances with Kim Minjun, I'm pretty sure he gave you a warning about me. He's not the only person who has insiders. We have them too."

Wooyoung nods to that, realising acting oblivious would be stupid to say the least. Junho's an undercover cop, hell knows what information he has access to. "So, what's up with another case? No more SSM for you? I'm not useful anymore or what?"

"It's not like that. I never intended to use you as a source of information. It's just... Fate? Coincidence? I don't know. I blew things by talking to you that evening in the restaurant. Stuff got personal and I was removed from this case. Honestly, I just wanted to make up for my mistakes – that's why I met your parents and told them the truth." A gush of wind carries their silence as Wooyoung digests the information.

"I appreciate what you did. It helped." Wooyoung looks at him and notices a worried expression on Junho's face. "...What?"

"How's... How's Suzy? I heard she had a relationship with that guy..." Junho inquires carefully.

Wooyoung bites on his lower lip, staring at his shoes. "She's gonna be better. Someday."

"Yeah..." Junho pushes off the motorcycle. "I know it's not my business... I hope you don't get too wrapped up in SSM."

Wooyoung smiles at him faintly. If only Junho wasn't a cop, they'd be friends. The way things are now, it's impossible and they both know it. This is probably the last time they see each other. "I'm glad you got off this case." He says, and sees understanding in Junho's eyes. This is for the better, definitely. One more life spared.

"Bye," Junho says and leaves.

 

Mango's purring in Wooyoung's lap, pointless TV shows and a cup of warm tea accompany the architect as he's relaxing on the sofa. Christmas went by quietly, not a single word from Minjun. Wooyoung doesn't know if he's going to contact him any time soon and it annoys the hell out of him. Losing Chansung and dealing with the loss shouldn't be a reason to ignore Wooyoung. On the contrary, Wooyoung was thinking he could comfort him or whatever; funeral was the last time they spoke to each other. Wooyoung frowns and switches to another channel, slightly enjoying Gordon Ramsay's bitter attitude towards a crappy cook, who has almost poisoned him with an expired chicken.

A doorbell echoes inside his apartment and Wooyoung removes the cat from his lap, making the latter clearly unhappy. His intuition seems to be working just fine when he finds it's really Minjun standing behind his door. He's wearing a black hoodie, but Wooyoung would recognise that posture even if he was dressed as a mummy. Wooyoung doesn't say a thing, just stares at the mobster darkly.

"Can I come in?" It feels odd to hear his voice after such a long time; Wooyoung’s missed that sound. He steps back and let's Minjun into the apartment. Mango feels a bit intimidated by a stranger and runs away, leaving the two of them alone. Wooyoung crosses his arms over his chest as Minjun removes the hood and finally looks him in the eye. "You're pissed off. I'm sorry."

"I don't know what's happening. An explanation would be helpful." Wooyoung answers calmly, but even an idiot would sense there's so much behind that mask of serenity.

"I was thinking about forging my own death."

"What?" Wooyoung screeches. He did not expect that.

Minjun sighs and makes his way into the living room, stopping by Wooyoung's newest purchase – a reproduction of Bernini's statue of Apollo and Daphne. "I had a lot of crap in my head, to be honest. I thought running away from all of this would be a solution, but I realised I can't. There's too much at stake. I cannot abandon my family; even though serving it sometimes takes too much of me." He shifts and stares at Wooyoung. "I thought letting go of you would be easier, but I was wrong. I told you I don't want you to be involved in all that shit I have to deal with and I failed. Hell, I could've lost you that night as well. So, in my mind, I had two options: one, I'm forging my death and running away into the sunset with you, and second, I'm breaking up with you and continuing on living my life like before."

"So...?" Wooyoung tilts his head to the side slightly.

"I couldn't do the first one, because I didn't want to make you leave everything you worked for and the same goes for me. I couldn't do the second one, because... Apparently, you're like a magnet I can't remove myself from." Minjun runs his hand through his dishevelled hair. "So, I came up with the third option. Your own choice. I don't even know if you want to have something in common with me after what you've been through, if you dare to stay with me no matter what... You already know being with me isn't a fairy-tale. So, I'm giving you the choice for the last time, because I won't be able to make it. Just tell me you don't want this to end."

Now it was Minjun's turn to be uncertain. As much as he wants Wooyoung to say something that would make him stay, there are no words coming from his mouth and his face is unreadable. Perhaps it was too much. How could he expect Wooyoung to continue with this unpredictable relationship? He wasn't raised to see people die in his arms, to see the dirty side of life, which Minjun had to witness every day. Wooyoung is just an ordinary human being, who most likely wants to have a normal life. He can't have that with the mobster. Minjun doesn't know if what Wooyoung feels for him is enough to endure so many things that might occur in the future. Wooyoung looks away and that settles it for Minjun. This silent rejection kills him slowly from the inside, his heart being the first organ to ache. Minjun gulps his sorrow down and walks past the indifferent Wooyoung, trying his hardest to stop himself from looking back. It'd be only worse.

"Are you going to leave just like this?" Wooyoung stops him in the doorstep as Minjun holds onto the doorknob. "It sucks being the one left in obscurity, doesn't it?" Minjun turns around and looks at Wooyoung, whose face is decorated with a frown. "You're right; I have to make my own choice. But I want you to hear it." Wooyoung makes his way towards the door, shuts it and stands in front of the puzzled man. "I came to a conclusion that I am a masochist. If I am like a magnet to you, then it works the same for me. This might get destructive at some point, but until then, I'm willing to endure everything, because we're like a fucking yin and yang, moon and sun, whatever. Are we done with the soap opera now?"

Minjun finally smiles and shakes his head faintly, staring at the ground. "Yeah, we are... You're the master of suspense; I have nothing on you..."

Wooyoung leans in and cups Minjun's face, rewarding him with a smug grin. "We're even now."

"Equal rights, huh?" Minjun's mouth is shut by the kiss as he hugs Wooyoung's neck firmly. The architect's hands travel across Minjun's torso and grab the hem of his hoodie, riding it up slightly to feel the warm skin beneath his fingers. His lips find Minjun's ear and he speaks mischievously.

"Don't answer my calls next time and I'll break your house walls to dig you out of your fortress."

Minjun chuckles lightly into Wooyoung's neck and feels content as his lover proceeds to remove his clothes.

This doesn't have to be a fairy-tale. After all, they never tell what's there after the happily ever after.


End file.
